W. Va. Code R. § 65-7-25 - Declaratory Ruling or Ruling of Reviewability

25.1. A health care facility, health care provider or health maintenance organization regulated by the Act, or any person planning to acquire, offer or develop any new institutional health service may apply to the board for a declaratory ruling on any matter regulated by the Act or any rule promulgated under the Act.

25.2. Any person acquiring, offering or developing an institutional health service may apply to the board for a ruling regarding reviewability of the proposed institutional health service.

25.3. Persons who request a declaratory ruling or a ruling regarding reviewability shall make the request in writing. They shall address the request to: Chairman, West Virginia Health Care Authority, 100 Dee Drive, Suite 201, Charleston, West Virginia 25311. The request shall contain a verification signed by the Chief Executive Officer.

25.4. Upon receipt of a request for declaratory ruling or a ruling regarding reviewability, the board shall issue its ruling within sixty (60) days of its receipt of the request. The board shall serve the ruling upon the person requesting the ruling and shall make the ruling available to any other person upon request and on payment of the cost set out in the fee schedule adopted by the board.

25.5. The board shall publish notice of its declaratory ruling or ruling regarding reviewability in the Saturday Charleston newspapers.

25.6. Any affected person may, within ten (10) days of the published notice, request a reconsideration of the board's ruling regarding reviewability. The affected person shall make the request for reconsideration in writing and shall set forth with particularity the reasons for the request. The affected person shall address the request to: General Counsel, West Virginia Health Care Authority, 100 Dee Drive, Suite 201, Charleston, West Virginia 25311.

25.7. Upon receipt of a request for reconsideration, the board shall, within thirty (30) days, determine whether the request will be granted. If the board grants the request, it shall determine whether sufficient grounds are established to hold a public hearing or whether the reconsideration is upon the record and any written matters submitted to the board pursuant to the requirements of subsection 25.10 of this rule. The board shall serve notice of the board's decision regarding reconsideration upon all affected persons.

25.8. The board's determination of whether to hold a public hearing or to consider the request upon the record and other written matters submitted pursuant to section 25.10 is final and nonreviewable.

25.9. The board shall publish notice of its decision regarding reconsideration in the Saturday Charleston newspapers. The notice shall identify the person or entity requesting the ruling, the nature of the original ruling, and the date, time and place of a public hearing on the matter if one is to be held.

25.10. If the board determines that a review shall be upon the record, it shall establish a schedule for the submission of written matters. Any affected person may submit proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law and/or legal briefs within the time established by the board. The board must issue a final ruling on or before the forty-fifth day after the submission of all written matters.

25.11. If the board determines that it should hold a hearing on the request for reconsideration, the hearing shall be held within thirty (30) days of the publication required by subsection 25.9 of this rule unless the board, for good cause shown, sets a later date.

25.12. The board may conduct a prehearing conference in accordance with Rule 16 of the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure. The parties may engage in discovery as provided by the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure. The scope of any discovery is limited to relevant and admissible evidence.

25.13. At the conclusion of any hearing, the parties shall submit proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law or legal briefs if required by the board. The board has forty-five (45) days from the receipt of those items or the closure of the record if those items are not tendered to make its determination in writing.

Notes

W. Va. Code R. § 65-7-25