{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-63-63-1-852","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 63, § 63-1-852","heading":"Long-term care facility certificate of need –","body":"Requirements - Exemptions.\n\nA. Every entity desiring to establish a new long-term care\n\nfacility, to expand an existing facility whether through\n\nconstruction or conversion of facilities, or to acquire an existing\n\nlong-term care facility shall make application to the State\n\nDepartment of Health for a certificate of need. The application for\n\na certificate of need shall be in such form as the State\n\nCommissioner of Health shall prescribe.\n\nB. A certificate of need shall be required for:\n\n1. Any capital investment or lease of One Million Dollars\n\n($1,000,000.00) or more, including predevelopment activities such as\n\narrangements and commitments for financing, architectural designs,\n\nplans, working drawings, specifications, and site acquisition;\n\nprovided, that this dollar limit shall not apply to a change in bed\n\ncapacity;\n\n2. Acquisition of the ownership or operation of a facility\n\nwhether by purchase, lease, donation, transfer of stock or interest,\n\nmanagement contract, corporate merger, assignment, or through\n\nforeclosure; and\n\n3. An increase in licensed beds, whether through establishment\n\nof a new facility or expansion of an existing facility.\n\nC. The Department within fifteen (15) days after receipt of an\n\napplication, shall issue an exemption from certificate of need\n\nrequirements upon written request and demonstration that applicable\n\nexemption criteria have been met, for any of the following\n\nactivities:\n\n1. An increase of no more than ten beds or ten percent (10%) of\n\nthe facility’s licensed beds, whichever is greater, per calendar\n\nyear if:\n\na. the total capital cost of the increase is less than\n\nOne Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00), and\n\nb. the facility’s occupancy rate averaged ninety-three\n\npercent (93%) or more during the twelve (12) months\n\npreceding the filing of the exemption request;\n\n2. Construction of a long-term care facility to replace or\n\nrelocate all or part of the licensed bed capacity of an existing\n\nfacility if:\n\na. the project involves no increase in licensed beds;\n\nb. the facility shall be constructed no farther than\n\nthree (3) miles for rural areas and seven and one-half\n\n(7 1/2) miles for urban areas, as defined by the\n\nStandard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA), from\n\nthe facility it is replacing or relocating, and\n\nc. a plan for the use of the facility to be replaced or\n\nrelocated is provided that ensures continuity of\n\nservices; and\n\n3. A management agreement if:\n\na. the management entity discloses all persons with\n\ncontrolling interest in the management entity and\n\ndiscloses all experience in long-term care facility\n\nmanagement or operation in any state during the\n\npreceding thirty-six (36) months,\n\nb. the management entity and any person with controlling\n\ninterest if the management entity has less than\n\nthirty-six (36) months experience in management or\n\noperation of facilities, does not have a history of\n\nnoncompliance, and\n\nc. the licensed entity remains responsible for facility\n\noperation, financial performance, staffing and\n\ndelivery of resident services required under the\n\nNursing Home Care Act.\n\nD. A certificate of need shall not be required for:\n\n1. Any changes of ownership resulting from the operation of\n\nlaw, including but not limited to divorce, probate, reversions and\n\nbankruptcy if the transfer of interest is to any already existing\n\nstockholder or person or entity listed on the license application\n\ndisclosure statement. This shall also include cancellations and\n\nexpirations of leases. Operational law ownership changes shall be\n\nreported to the Department within five (5) working days of the\n\nchange;\n\n2. Ownership changes for estate planning purposes, treasury\n\nstock purchases, and transfers between existing owners and/or family\n\nmembers; increases in the amount of common stock or partnership\n\ninterest for any individual who already owns fifty percent (50%) of\nirations of leases. Operational law ownership changes shall be\n\nreported to the Department within five (5) working days of the\n\nchange;\n\n2. Ownership changes for estate planning purposes, treasury\n\nstock purchases, and transfers between existing owners and/or family\n\nmembers; increases in the amount of common stock or partnership\n\ninterest for any individual who already owns fifty percent (50%) of\n\nthe common stock or corporate entity involved or controls fifty\n\npercent (50%) or more of the interest in the partnership involved;\n\nand\n\n3. New purchases of common stock or partnership interest by any\n\nlegal entity if such new purchaser will own, in total, less than\n\nfifty percent (50%) of the corporate entity involved or partnership\n\ninvolved.\n\nE. All applicants for the issuance of a certificate of need, at\n\nsuch time and in such manner as required by the Department, shall\n\nfile:\n\n1. A disclosure statement with their applications unless the\n\napplicant is a publicly held company required to file periodic\n\nreports under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, or a wholly\n\nowned subsidiary of a publicly held company. In such case, the\n\napplicant shall not be required to submit a disclosure statement,\n\nbut shall submit the most recent annual and quarterly reports\n\nrequired by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which provide\n\ninformation regarding legal proceedings in which the applicant has\n\nbeen involved;\n\n2. Copies of residents council minutes and family council\n\nminutes, if any, and the facility's written response to the\n\ncouncils' requests or grievances, for the three (3) months prior to\n\nthe date of application, for each of the applicant's current\n\nholdings in the State of Oklahoma; and\n\n3. Such other relevant information required by the Department\n\npursuant to the Long-term Care Certificate of Need Act that relates\n\nto the competency, reliability, or responsibility of the applicant\n\nand affiliated persons.\n\nF. An application for a certificate of need shall be signed\n\nunder oath by the applicant.\n\nG. Promptly upon receipt of any such application, the\n\nDepartment shall examine and transmit the application to reviewing\n\nbodies selected by the Department to assist the Department in\n\ndetermining whether the application is complete. Once the\n\nDepartment has determined that the application is complete, it shall\n\nnotify the affected parties and other reviewing bodies and cause a\n\nthorough investigation to be made of the need for and\n\nappropriateness of the new or any long-term care service\n\nacquisition, expansion, or establishment of a new facility.\n\nH. Except as provided by Section 1-853.1 of this title, the\n\ninvestigation made pursuant to an application for a certificate of\n\nneed shall include the following:\n\n1. The adequacy of long-term care facilities in relation to an\n\noptimal target ratio of long-term care beds per thousand persons\n\nseventy-five (75) years of age or older in the state;\n\n2. The availability of long-term care which may serve as\n\nalternatives or substitutes;\n\n3. The adequacy of financial resources for the acquisition,\n\nexpansion, or establishment of a new long-term care facility and for\n\nthe continued operation thereof;\n\n4. The availability of sufficient staff to properly operate the\n\nproposed acquisition, expansion, or establishment of a new long-term\n\ncare facility;\n\n5. The record of the applicant's current and prior ownership,\n\noperation and management of similar facilities in this state and in\n\nany other state. The investigation of such record shall include,\n\nbut not be limited to, inquiry to the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman\n\nOffice, the state Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the state\n\nlicensure and certification agency;\n\n6. Review of minutes of family councils and residents councils,\n\nand the facilities' responses, from each of the applicant's holdings\n\nin Oklahoma; and\nstate and in\n\nany other state. The investigation of such record shall include,\n\nbut not be limited to, inquiry to the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman\n\nOffice, the state Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the state\n\nlicensure and certification agency;\n\n6. Review of minutes of family councils and residents councils,\n\nand the facilities' responses, from each of the applicant's holdings\n\nin Oklahoma; and\n\n7. Any other matter which the Department deems appropriate.\n\nI. Before making a final determination on an acquisition\n\napplication, the Commissioner shall cause paid public notices to be\n\npublished in a newspaper of general circulation near the facility\n\nand in a newspaper of general circulation in the area where the\n\napplication is available for public inspection. A notice in a form\n\nprescribed by the Department also shall be posted by the applicant\n\nin a public area in each facility operated by the applicant in\n\nOklahoma, to inform residents and families of the applicant's\n\nproposed action. The public notices shall offer participating\n\nparties an opportunity to submit written comments.\n\nJ. The Commissioner's decision to approve or deny the proposed\n\nacquisition, expansion, or establishment of a new facility shall be\n\nmade within forty-five (45) days following the deadline for\n\nsubmitting written comments, or the proposed acquisition or\n\nestablishment shall be automatically approved, unless otherwise\n\nprohibited pursuant to the provisions of the Long-term Care\n\nCertificate of Need Act.\n\nK. If the Commissioner finds that a proposed acquisition,\n\nexpansion, or establishment of a new facility is consistent with the\n\ncriteria and standards for review of such projects, and is otherwise\n\nin compliance with the provision of the Long-term Care Certificate\n\nof Need Act, then the Commissioner shall issue a certificate of\n\nneed. If the Commissioner finds that the proposed acquisition,\n\nexpansion, or establishment of a new facility is not consistent with\n\nthe criteria and standards, or is otherwise not in compliance with\n\nthe provisions of the Long-term Care Certificate of Need Act, the\n\nCommissioner shall deny the certificate of need.","path":["OK Code","Title 63"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os63.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"ed06d6fc85839e60aa2221b73e883de8610009406f400ca61eafc8b78bfcd46d","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-63-63-1-851.3","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-63-63-1-852.1"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}