Mid-Atlantic Health Law TOPICS
Maryland Facility Licenses No Longer Expire
Under a new Maryland law, effective July 1, 2018, 57 categories of health care facility licenses issued by the Maryland Office of Health Care Quality (OHCQ) are no longer required to be renewed after the initial license has been approved, effectively making the licenses non-expiring.
The changes occurred as a part of the Hogan administration’s efforts to reduce and eliminate regulations deemed unnecessary or burdensome. More specifically, OHCQ determined that because the renewal process generally consists of a paper application with no connection to mandatory periodic survey requirements, requiring licenses to be renewed does not necessarily provide useful information regarding the quality of services provided by a licensee.
Consequently, license renewals could be eliminated without endangering the public. Moreover, the elimination of license renewals is intended to decrease OHCQ’s administrative burdens, and thereby allow for more timely completion of required surveys and investigations.
Facilities impacted by the elimination of renewal requirements include the following:
- Assisted living facilities
- Community mental health centers
- Comprehensive outpatient rehab facilities
- Developmental disability sites
- Federally qualified health centers
- Freestanding ambulatory surgical centers
- Group homes for adults with mental illness
- Health maintenance organizations
- Home health agencies
- Hospices
- Hospital laboratories
- Hospitals
- Independent reference laboratories
- Long-term care facilities
- Opioid maintenance therapy trograms
- Outpatient mental health centers
- Outpatient physical therapy troviders
- Physician office laboratories
- Portable X-ray providers
- Psychiatric day treatment services
The new law does not affect renewals of Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) permits required by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Laboratories in the CLIA program must still renew their permits with CMS biannually to maintain their State licensure.
Licensees affected by the new law should have received a new license in the mail with an issue date of July 1, 2018, and an indication that it is non-expiring. Licensees are still responsible for ensuring that their contact information remains current with OHCQ.
Barry F. Rosen
410-576-4224 • brosen@gfrlaw.com