Emergency Replacement Procedure

Emergency Replacement Procedure. Pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. § 41-7-207, when the need for an emergency replacement occurs involving a health care facility or equipment, the Certificate of Need review process shall be expedited by the promulgation and application Page 24 — Mississippi State Department of Health of administrative procedures for expenditures necessary to alleviate an emergency condition and restore health care access. For purposes of this rule, emergency replacement means the replacement, and/or necessary relocation, of all or the damaged part of facilities or equipment, the replacement of which is not otherwise exempt from CON review under the medical equipment replacement exemption in Miss. Code Ann. § 41-7-191(1)(f), without which the operation of the facility and the health and safety of patients would be immediately jeopardized and health care access would be denied to such patients. Expenditures under this rule shall be limited to the replacement of those necessary facilities or equipment the loss of which constitutes the emergency; however, in the case of the destruction or major damage to a health care facility, the Department is authorized to issue a CON to address the current and future health care needs of the community, including but not limited to the expansion or relocation of the health care facility. A health care facility whose repair or rebuilding qualifies for the exemption provided by Miss. Code Ann. § 41-7-191(13) (natural disaster exemption) may apply for relief under that exemption rather than under this rule. Application Fee Waiver. The Department may waive all or part of the required CON application fee for any application filed under this rule if the payment of the fee would create a further hardship or undue burden on the health care facility. A request for fee waiver shall be submitted in writing to the Department concurrently with or before the filing of the application and shall include documentation sufficient to demonstrate the claimed hardship. Expedited Procedures. The Department shall establish and apply expedited review procedures for applications filed under this rule. Expedited procedures may differ from standard review procedures to the extent necessary to address the emergency circumstances. The Department shall communicate the applicable expedited procedures to the applicant upon receipt of the application.