Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0720-30-.02 - LICENSING PROCEDURES
(1) No person,
partnership, association, corporation, or state, county or local government
unit, or any division, department, board or agency thereof, shall establish,
conduct, operate, or maintain in the State of Tennessee any home care
organization providing home medical equipment without having a license.
(a) A license shall be issued to the person
or persons named and for the premises listed in the application for licensure,
if a physical location in Tennessee is listed.
(b) The name of the home care organization
providing home medical equipment shall not be changed without first notifying
the Commission in writing.
(c)
Licenses are not transferable or assignable and shall expire and become invalid
annually on the anniversary date of their original issuance.
(d) The license shall be conspicuously posted
in the home care organization providing home medical equipment, if a physical
location in Tennessee is listed.
(e) If a provider does not desire an in-state
location, this information is required to be provided at the time of
application.
(2) In
order to make application for a license:
(a)
The applicant shall submit an application on a form prepared by the
Department.
(b) Each applicant for
a license shall pay an annual license fee in the amount of one thousand four
hundred and four dollars ($1,404.00). The fee must be submitted with the
initial application or renewal application and is not refundable.
(c) The issuance of an application form is in
no way a guarantee that the completed application will be accepted or that a
license will be issued by the Department. Patients shall not be admitted to the
agency until a license has been issued. Applicants shall not hold themselves
out to the public as being an agency until the license has been issued. A
license shall not be issued until the agency is in substantial compliance with
these rules.
(d) The applicant must
prove the ability to meet the financial needs of the agency.
(e) The applicant shall not use subterfuge or
other evasive means to obtain a license, such as filing for a license through a
second party when an individual has been denied a license or has had a license
disciplined or has attempted to avoid an inspection and review
process.
(f) The applicant, through
the designated contact person, shall allow the home care organization providing
home medical equipment to be inspected by a Commission surveyor and provide
access to survey material. In the event that deficiencies are noted, the
applicant shall submit a plan of corrective action to the Board that must be
accepted by the Board. Once the deficiencies have been corrected, then the
Board shall consider the application for licensure.
(g) If a physical location in Tennessee is
not desired, the provider shall designate the type of category desired upon
initial application.
(3)
A proposed change of ownership, including a change in a controlling interest,
must be reported to the Department a minimum of thirty (30) days prior to the
change. A new application and fee must be received by the Department before the
license may be issued.
(a) For the purpose of
licensing, the licensee of an agency has the ultimate responsibility for the
operation of the agency, including the final authority to make or control
operational decisions and legal responsibility for the business management. A
change of ownership occurs whenever this ultimate legal authority for the
responsibility of the agency's operation is transferred.
(b) A change of ownership occurs whenever
there is a change in the legal structure by which the agency is owned and
operated.
(c) Transactions
constituting a change of ownership include, but are not limited to, the
following:
1. Transfer of the agency's legal
title;
2. Lease of the agency's
operations;
3. Dissolution of any
partnership that owns, or owns a controlling interest in, the agency;
4. One partnership is replaced by another
through the removal, addition or substitution of a partner;
5. Removal of the general partner or general
partners, if the agency is owned by a limited partnership;
6. Merger of an agency owner (a corporation)
into another corporation where, after the merger, the owner's shares of capital
stock are canceled;
7. The
consolidation of a corporate agency owner with one or more corporations;
or
8. Transfers between levels of
government.
(d)
Transactions which do not constitute a change of ownership include, but are not
limited to, the following:
1. Changes in the
membership of a corporate board of directors or board of trustees;
2. Two (2) or more corporations merge and the
originally licensed corporation survives;
3. Changes in the membership of a non-profit
corporation;
4. Transfers between
departments of the same level of government; or
5. Corporate stock transfer or sales, even
when a controlling interest.
(e) Management agreements are generally not
changes of ownership if the owner continues to retain ultimate authority for
the operation of the agency. However, if the ultimate authority is surrendered
and transferred from the owner to a new manager, then a change of ownership has
occurred.
(f) Sale/lease-back
agreements shall not be treated as changes in ownership if the lease involves
the agency's entire real and personal property and if the identity of the
leasee, who shall continue the operation, retains the exact same legal form as
the former owner.
(4)
Renewal.
(a) In order to renew a license, each
home care organization providing home medical equipment shall submit to
periodic inspections by Department surveyors for compliance with these rules.
If deficiencies are noted, the licensee shall submit an acceptable plan of
corrective action and shall remedy the deficiencies. In addition, each licensee
shall submit a renewal form approved by the Board and applicable renewal fee
prior to the expiration date of the license.
(b) If a licensee fails to renew its license
prior to the date of its expiration but submits the renewal form and fee within
sixty (60) days thereafter, the licensee may renew late by paying, in addition
to the renewal fee, a late penalty of one hundred dollars ($100) per month for
each month or fraction of a month that renewal is late; provided that the late
penalty shall not exceed twice the renewal fee.
(c) In the event that a licensee fails to
renew its license within the sixty (60) day grace period following the license
expiration date, then the licensee shall reapply for a license by submitting
the following to the Board office:
1. A
completed application for licensure;
2. The license fee provided in Rule
0720-30-.02(2)(b); and
3. Any other
information required by the Health Services and Development Agency.
(d) Upon reapplication, the
licensee shall submit to an inspection of the facility by Department of Health
surveyors.
(5)
Conversion of Designated License Category. If a licensee wishes to convert to a
different designated license category under paragraph (22) of Rule 0720-30-.01,
a Notice of Intent to Convert must be received by the Commission.
Notes
Authority: T.C.A. §§ 4-5-202, 4-5-204, 68-11-201, 68-11-202, 68-11-204, 68-11-206, 68-11-206(a)(5), 68-11-209, 68-11-209(a)(1), 68-11-210, 68-11-216, and 68-11-226 and Chapter 846 of the Public Acts of 2008, § 1.
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
(1) No person, partnership, association, corporation, or state, county or local government unit, or any division, department, board or agency thereof, shall establish, conduct, operate, or maintain in the State of Tennessee any home care organization providing home medical equipment without having a license.
(a) A license shall be issued to the person or persons named and for the premises listed in the application for licensure, if a physical location in Tennessee is listed.
(b) The name of the home care organization providing home medical equipment shall not be changed without first notifying the Commission in writing.
(c) Licenses are not transferable or assignable and shall expire and become invalid annually on the anniversary date of their original issuance.
(d) The license shall be conspicuously posted in the home care organization providing home medical equipment, if a physical location in Tennessee is listed.
(e) If a provider does not desire an in-state location, this information is required to be provided at the time of application.
(2) In order to make application for a license:
(a) The applicant shall submit an application on a form prepared by the Department.
(b) Each applicant for a license shall pay an annual license fee in the amount of one thousand four hundred and four dollars ($1,404.00). The fee must be submitted with the initial application or renewal application and is not refundable.
(c) The issuance of an application form is in no way a guarantee that the completed application will be accepted or that a license will be issued by the Department. Patients shall not be admitted to the agency until a license has been issued. Applicants shall not hold themselves out to the public as being an agency until the license has been issued. A license shall not be issued until the agency is in substantial compliance with these rules.
(d) The applicant must prove the ability to meet the financial needs of the agency.
(e) The applicant shall not use subterfuge or other evasive means to obtain a license, such as filing for a license through a second party when an individual has been denied a license or has had a license disciplined or has attempted to avoid an inspection and review process.
(f) The applicant, through the designated contact person, shall allow the home care organization providing home medical equipment to be inspected by a Commission surveyor and provide access to survey material. In the event that deficiencies are noted, the applicant shall submit a plan of corrective action to the Board that must be accepted by the Board. Once the deficiencies have been corrected, then the Board shall consider the application for licensure.
(g) If a physical location in Tennessee is not desired, the provider shall designate the type of category desired upon initial application.
(3) A proposed change of ownership, including a change in a controlling interest, must be reported to the Department a minimum of thirty (30) days prior to the change. A new application and fee must be received by the Department before the license may be issued.
(a) For the purpose of licensing, the licensee of an agency has the ultimate responsibility for the operation of the agency, including the final authority to make or control operational decisions and legal responsibility for the business management. A change of ownership occurs whenever this ultimate legal authority for the responsibility of the agency's operation is transferred.
(b) A change of ownership occurs whenever there is a change in the legal structure by which the agency is owned and operated.
(c) Transactions constituting a change of ownership include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. Transfer of the agency's legal title;
2. Lease of the agency's operations;
3. Dissolution of any partnership that owns, or owns a controlling interest in, the agency;
4. One partnership is replaced by another through the removal, addition or substitution of a partner;
5. Removal of the general partner or general partners, if the agency is owned by a limited partnership;
6. Merger of an agency owner (a corporation) into another corporation where, after the merger, the owner's shares of capital stock are canceled;
7. The consolidation of a corporate agency owner with one or more corporations; or
8. Transfers between levels of government.
(d) Transactions which do not constitute a change of ownership include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. Changes in the membership of a corporate board of directors or board of trustees;
2. Two (2) or more corporations merge and the originally licensed corporation survives;
3. Changes in the membership of a non-profit corporation;
4. Transfers between departments of the same level of government; or
5. Corporate stock transfer or sales, even when a controlling interest.
(e) Management agreements are generally not changes of ownership if the owner continues to retain ultimate authority for the operation of the agency. However, if the ultimate authority is surrendered and transferred from the owner to a new manager, then a change of ownership has occurred.
(f) Sale/lease-back agreements shall not be treated as changes in ownership if the lease involves the agency's entire real and personal property and if the identity of the leasee, who shall continue the operation, retains the exact same legal form as the former owner.
(4) Renewal.
(a) In order to renew a license, each home care organization providing home medical equipment shall submit to periodic inspections by Department surveyors for compliance with these rules. If deficiencies are noted, the licensee shall submit an acceptable plan of corrective action and shall remedy the deficiencies. In addition, each licensee shall submit a renewal form approved by the Board and applicable renewal fee prior to the expiration date of the license.
(b) If a licensee fails to renew its license prior to the date of its expiration but submits the renewal form and fee within sixty (60) days thereafter, the licensee may renew late by paying, in addition to the renewal fee, a late penalty of one hundred dollars ($100) per month for each month or fraction of a month that renewal is late; provided that the late penalty shall not exceed twice the renewal fee.
(c) In the event that a licensee fails to renew its license within the sixty (60) day grace period following the license expiration date, then the licensee shall reapply for a license by submitting the following to the Board office:
1. A completed application for licensure;
2. The license fee provided in Rule 0720-30-.02(2)(b); and
3. Any other information required by the Health Services and Development Agency.
(d) Upon reapplication, the licensee shall submit to an inspection of the facility by Department of Health surveyors.
(5) Conversion of Designated License Category. If a licensee wishes to convert to a different designated license category under paragraph (22) of Rule 0720-30-.01, a Notice of Intent to Convert must be received by the Commission.
Notes
Authority: T.C.A. §§ 4-5-202, 4-5-204, 68-11-201, 68-11-202, 68-11-204, 68-11-206, 68-11-206(a)(5), 68-11-209, 68-11-209(a)(1), 68-11-210, 68-11-216, and 68-11-226 and Chapter 846 of the Public Acts of 2008, § 1.