1. (a) The following staff must complete a presurvey conference training before submitting an application for a license:

   1. (1) the administrator and alternate administrator; and
   2. (2) the supervising nurse and alternate supervising nurse of an agency that provides licensed home health services with or without home dialysis designation, licensed and certified home health services with or without home dialysis designation, or hospice services.
2. (b) When applying for a license, an applicant must not provide incorrect or false information on an application or an attachment to an application or withhold information from an application or an attachment to an application. If an applicant provides incorrect or false information on, or withholds information from, an application or an attachment to an application, HHSC may deny the application as described in §97.21 of this subchapter (relating to Denial of an Application or a License).
3. (c) Upon request, HHSC furnishes a person with an application packet for a license.

4. (d) An applicant may request to be licensed in one or more of the following categories:

   1. (1) licensed and certified home health services;
   2. (2) licensed and certified home health services with home dialysis designation;
   3. (3) licensed home health services;
   4. (4) licensed home health services with home dialysis designation;
   5. (5) hospice services; or
   6. (6) personal assistance services.
5. (e) HHSC does not require an agency to be licensed in more than one category if the category for which the agency is licensed includes the services the agency provides.
6. (f) An applicant must complete and furnish all documents and information that HHSC requests in accordance with instructions provided with the application packet. All submitted documents must be notarized copies or originals.

7. (g) After receiving an application packet and license fee, HHSC reviews the material to determine if it is complete and correct. A complete and correct application packet includes all documents and information that HHSC requests as part of the application process. If HHSC receives no fee or a partial fee, HHSC returns the application packet and the fee to the applicant.

   1. (1) HHSC processes the application packet in accordance with time frames established in §97.31 of this chapter (relating to Time Frames for Processing and Issuing a License).
   2. (2) If an applicant decides not to continue the application process for an initial license after submitting the application packet and license fee, the applicant must submit to HHSC a written request to withdraw the application. HHSC does not refund the license fee.
   3. (3) If an applicant receives a notice from HHSC that some or all of the information required by this section has been omitted, the applicant must submit the required information to HHSC no later than 30 days after the date of the notice. If an applicant fails to submit the required information within 30 days after the notice date, HHSC considers the application packet incomplete and denies the application. If HHSC denies the application, HHSC does not refund the license fee.

8. (h) An applicant who has requested the category of licensed and certified home health services on the initial license application must also apply to CMS for certification as a Medicare-certified agency under the Social Security Act, Title XVIII.

   1. (1) While the applicant is waiting for CMS to certify it as a Medicare-certified agency:

      1. (A) HHSC issues an initial license reflecting the category of licensed home health services if the applicant meets the criteria for the license; and
      2. (B) the applicant must comply with the Medicare conditions of participation for home health agencies in 42 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 484, as if the applicant were dually certified.
   2. (2) If CMS certifies an agency to participate in the Medicare program during the initial license period, HHSC sends a notice to the agency that the category of licensed and certified home health services has been added to the license. If the agency wants to remove the licensed home health services category from the agency's license after the category of licensed and certified home health services has been added, the agency must submit to HHSC a written request to remove that category from the agency's license.
   3. (3) If CMS denies certification to an agency or an agency withdraws the application for participation in the Medicare program, the agency may retain the category of licensed home health services on its license.
9. (i) An applicant for an initial license must comply with §97.30 of this subchapter (relating to Operation of an Inpatient Unit at Parent Agency) to operate an inpatient unit at the applicant's parent agency.

Source Note:The provisions of this §558.13 adopted to be effective June 1, 2006, 31 TexReg 1455; amended to be effective January 17, 2018, 43 TexReg 238; transferred effective May 1, 2019, as published in the April 12, 2019, issue of the Texas Register, 44 TexReg 1893.