Rule 111-8-37-.25 - Waivers and Variances(1) A hospice may request a waiver or variance of a specific rule by application on forms provided by the Department.(2) The Department may grant or deny the request for waiver or variance at its discretion. If the waiver or variance is granted, the Department may establish conditions that must be met by the hospice in order to operate under the waiver or variance. Waivers or variances may be granted with consideration of the following: (a)Variance. A variance may be granted by the Department, at its discretion, upon a showing by the applicant that the particular rule or regulation that is the subject of the variance request should not be applied as written because strict application would cause undue hardship. The applicant must also show that adequate standards exist for affording protection for the health, safety, and care of patients, and these existing standards would be met in lieu of the exact requirements of the rule or regulation.(b)Waiver. The Department may, at its discretion, dispense altogether with the enforcement of a rule or regulation by granting a waiver upon a showing by the applicant that the purpose of the rule or regulation is met through equivalent standards affording equivalent protection for the health, safety, and care of the patients.(c)Experimental Waiver or Variance. The Department may grant a waiver or variance, at its discretion, to allow experimentation and demonstration of new and innovative approaches to delivery of services upon a showing by the applicant that the intended protections afforded by the rule or regulation in question are met and that the innovative approach has the potential to improve service delivery.(3) Waivers and variances granted by the Department must be for a time certain, as determined by the Department.(4) The hospice may request a final review of the initial waiver or variance decision made by program staff to the chief of the Division of Healthcare Facility Regulation by filing a written request for review of the initial decision and providing any additional information which supports the request for review. The chief of the Division will issue a final decision on behalf of the Department.(5) Where the Department has denied the application for a waiver or variance in writing, the Department will not consider a subsequent application for the same waiver or variance from the same hospice unless the applicant includes new evidence of a substantial change in the circumstances which formed the basis for the initial request.Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 111-8-37-.25
O.C.G.A. §§ 31-2-4 7 and 31-7-170 et seq.
Original Rule entitled "Waivers and Variances" adopted. F. May 26, 2015; eff. June 15, 2015.