Definitions

The following definitions shall apply to terms as they appear in these rules unless the context clearly requires otherwise. (1) “Applicant” or “applicants” means a community mental health center that is a party to a cooperative agreement for which an application for a certificate of public advantage is submitted. (2) “Attorney General” means the Office of the Attorney General for the State of Tennessee. (3) “Certificate Holder” means a community mental health center that is a party to a cooperative agreement that has received a certificate of public advantage. (4) “Certificate of Public Advantage” or “COPA” means the certificate, issued by the Department, that approves and authorizes a cooperative agreement. (5) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services or his or her designee. (6) “Community mental health center” means: COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH CENTER COOPERATION CHAPTER 0940-03-10 (a) A community mental health center as defined in Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 33-1-101(6); or (b) Any parent or corporate affiliate of a community mental health center. (7) “Cooperative agreement” means an agreement among two (2) or more community mental health centers for the offering, provision, operation, coordination, planning, funding, pricing, contracting, utilization review, or management of mental health and related services pursuant to programs funded or administered by departments or agencies of state government, including, but not limited to, the TennCare program, or the sharing, allocation, or referral of service recipients, personnel, instructional programs, support services, ancillary services, and facilities, or other services traditionally offered by community mental health centers for such programs. (8) “Department” means the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. (9) “Intervenor” means any hospital, physician, allied health professional, healthcare provider or other person furnishing goods or services to, or in competition with, a community mental health center, insurer, hospital service corporation, medical service corporation, hospital and medical services corporation, preferred provider organization, health maintenance organization, behavioral health organization, or any employer or association that directly or indirectly provides health care benefits to its employees or members. (10) “Initial filing” means a summary of the proposed cooperative agreement, describing the affected geographic area, and the proposed benefits and disadvantages of the cooperative agreement. (11) “Newspaper of General Circulation” means a publication regularly issued at least as frequently as once a week for a definite price, having a second-class mailing privilege, being not less than four (4) pages, published continuously during the immediately preceding one- year period, which is published for the dissemination of news of general interest, and is circulated generally in the county or counties in which it is published and in which notice is given. A “newspaper of general circulation” shall not be construed to include a newspaper which is not engaged in the distribution of news of general interest to the public, but which is primarily engaged in the distribution of news of interest to a particular group of citizens. (12) “Notice of Completion of Application” means a written notice from the Department to the applicants indicating that their application is complete. (13) “Person” is as defined in Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-11-102(13). (14) “Renewal Application” means an application submitted by certificate holders in order to renew a COPA. (15) “Shall” or “Must” indicates a mandatory provision. (16) “Should” or “May” indicates a suggestion or a recommendation.