Sec. 6.5. A person may qualify for an exemption under section 6(b)(3) of this chapter, and the state department may approve a construction permit, a new or amended license to operate, or Medicaid certification for a comprehensive care health facility, if any of the following are met:

(1) The applicant is a replacement facility, and the comprehensive care health facility that is being replaced by the replacement facility:

(A) will no longer be licensed as a comprehensive care health facility sixty (60) days after the replacement facility obtains a license from the state department; and

(B) transfers any of the comprehensive care beds, including the certification status of the beds, to the replacement facility.

(2) The applicant is currently licensed to operate at least one (1) existing comprehensive care health facility, and the applicant has identified at least one (1) comprehensive care health facility that has agreed to transfer any of the comprehensive care health facility’s comprehensive care beds, including the certification status of the beds to the applicant. A comprehensive care health facility transferring the licensure and certification of any comprehensive care beds to the applicant under this subdivision will no longer be licensed as a comprehensive care health facility sixty (60) days after the applicant obtains a license from the state department for additional comprehensive care beds.

(3) The applicant will be constructing at least one (1) comprehensive care health facility and meets the following criteria:

(A) The applicant has identified at least two (2) comprehensive care health facilities that have agreed to transfer any of the comprehensive care health facilities’ beds, including the certification status of the comprehensive care beds, to the applicant’s new comprehensive care health facility.

(B) The number of comprehensive care health facilities seeking to transfer comprehensive care beds to an applicant exceeds the number of new comprehensive care health facilities being constructed by the applicant.

(C) Unless granted an exception by both the state department and the office of Medicaid policy and planning, if a comprehensive care health facility seeking to transfer comprehensive care beds is located in a medically underserved area, as designated by the federal Health Resources & Services Administration, at least one (1) of the new comprehensive care health facilities must be constructed within five (5) minutes drive time or five (5) miles of the comprehensive care health facility that is located in the medically underserved area.

(D) The comprehensive care health facility transferring a comprehensive care bed, including the certified status of the comprehensive care bed, is no longer licensed as a comprehensive care health facility sixty (60) days after the applicant obtains a license from the state department.

As added by P.L.217-2017, SEC.88.