§2006.2. Expedited licensing process; fees

            A. The Louisiana Department of Health, referred to hereafter in this Section as the "department", is hereby authorized to establish an expedited licensing process for healthcare facilities and providers that the department licenses.

            B. The department shall promulgate, in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, any such rules as are necessary to provide for the expedited licensing process authorized by this Section.

            C. The fees for the expedited licensing process shall be assessed in an amount not to exceed seven thousand five hundred dollars and shall be payable to the department at the time an expedited licensing application is submitted to the department by a healthcare facility or provider.

            D.(1) After the department receives and approves the completed expedited licensing application packet, the department shall notify the applicant to provide a readiness date for the expedited survey. The department shall conduct the expedited licensing survey within ten working days of the readiness date indicated by the facility or provider and in accordance with applicable rules of the department.

            (2) The department shall refund the expedited licensing fee if the expedited licensing survey is not conducted within the time period specified in this Section, unless such failure to conduct the survey is due to the unavailability of the facility or provider.

            (3) The department shall not utilize existing employees who conduct regular licensing surveys to conduct any expedited licensing survey.

            E. The department shall ensure that no facility or provider seeking approval to apply for licensure pursuant to a pre-licensing facility need review process provided for in this Chapter is affected by another provider of the same license type choosing the expedited licensing process instead of the regular licensing process.

            Acts 2018, No. 324, §1, eff. May 15, 2018.