New Jersey § 26:2h-7

§ 26:2h-7.

No health care facility shall be constructed or expanded, and no new health care service

shall be instituted after the effective date of P.L.1971, c. 136 ( C.26:2H-1 et seq. ) except upon application for and receipt of a certificate of need as provided by

P.L.1971, c. 136 ( C.26:2H-1 et seq. ). No agency of the State or of any county or municipal government shall approve any

grant of funds for, or issue any license to, a health care facility which is constructed

or expanded, or which institutes a new health care service, in violation of the provisions

of P.L.1971, c. 136 ( C.26:2H-1 et seq. ). Except as provided in section 19 of P.L.1992, c. 160 ( C.26:2H-7a ) and section 16 of P.L.1998, c. 43 ( C.26:2H-7c ), the provisions of this section shall apply to: a. The initiation of any health care service as provided in section 2 of P.L.1971,

c. 136 ( C.26:2H-2 ); b. The initiation by any person of a health care service which is the subject of a

health planning regulation adopted by the Department of Health ; c. The purchase by any person of major moveable equipment whose total cost is over

$2 million; d. The expenditure by a licensed health care facility of over $2 million for construction

of a new health care facility; and e. The construction of a facility by any person, whose total project cost exceeds

$2 million, if the facility-type is the subject of a health planning regulation adopted

by the Department of Health . The commissioner may periodically increase the monetary thresholds established in

this section, by regulation, to reflect inflationary increases in the costs of health

care equipment or construction. For the purposes of this section, “ health care service ” shall include any service which is the subject of a health planning regulation adopted

by the Department of Health , and “ person ” shall include a corporation, company, association, society, firm, partnership , and joint stock company, as well as an individual. A physician who initiates a health care service which is the subject of a health planning

regulation or purchases major moveable equipment pursuant to subsection b. or c. of

this section, may apply to the commissioner for a waiver of the certificate of need

requirement if: the equipment or health care service is such an essential, fundamental , and integral component of the physician's practice specialty, that the physician

would be unable to practice his specialty according to the acceptable medical standards

of that specialty without the health care service or equipment; the physician bills

at least 75% of his total amount of charges in the practice specialty which uses the

health care service or equipment; and the health care service or equipment is not

otherwise available and accessible to patients, pursuant to standards established

by the commissioner, by regulation. The commissioner shall make a determination about whether to grant or deny the waiver,

within 120 days from the date the request for the waiver is received by the commissioner

and shall so notify the physician who requested the waiver. If the request is denied, the commissioner shall include in that notification the

reason for the denial. If the request is denied, the initiation of a health care service or the purchase

of major moveable equipment shall be subject to the certificate of need requirements

pursuant to this section. A health maintenance organization which furnishes at least basic comprehensive care

health services on a prepaid basis to enrollees either through providers employed

by the health maintenance organization or through a medical group or groups which

contract directly with the health maintenance organization, which initiates a health

care service, or constructs a health care facility pursuant to subsection a., b.,

d. , or e. of this section, may apply to the commissioner for a waiver of the certificate

of need requirement if: the initiation of the health care service or the construction

is in the best interests of State health planning; and the health maintenance organization

is in compliance with the provisions of P.L.1973, c. 337 ( C.26:2J-1 et seq. ) and complies with the provisions of subsection d. of section 3 of P.L.1973, c. 337

( C.26:2J-3 ) regarding notification to the commissioner. The commissioner shall make a determination about whether to grant or deny the waiver

within 45 days from the date the request for the waiver is received by the commissioner

and shall so notify the health maintenance organization. If the request for a waiver is denied on the basis that the request would not be

in the best interests of State health planning, the commissioner shall state in that

notification the reason why the request would not be in the best interests of State

health planning. If the request for a waiver is denied, the health maintenance organization's initiation

of a health care service or construction project shall be subject to the certificate

of need requirements pursuant to this section. The requirement to obtain a certificate of need for major moveable equipment pursuant

to subsection c. of this section shall not apply if a contract to purchase that equipment

was entered into prior to July 1, 1991.