400.602  Licensure required; prohibited acts; exemptions; display, transferability of license.--

(1)(a)  It is unlawful to operate or maintain a hospice without first obtaining a license from the agency.

(b)  It is unlawful for any person or legal entity not licensed as a hospice under this part to use the word "hospice" in its name, or to offer or advertise hospice services or hospice-like services in such a way as to mislead a person to believe that the offeror is a hospice licensed under this part.

(c)  It is unlawful for any person or legal entity offering, describing, or advertising hospice services or hospice-like services or otherwise holding itself out as a hospice to do so without stating the year of initial licensure as a hospice in the state or the year of initial licensure of the hospice entity or affiliate based in the state that owns the hospice. At a minimum, the year of initial licensure must be stated directly beneath the name of the licensed entity in a type no less than 25 percent of the size of the type used for the name or other indication of hospice services or hospice-like services and must be prominently stated at least one time on any document, item, or other medium offering, describing, or advertising hospice services or hospice-like services. This requirement excludes any materials relating to the care and treatment of an existing hospice patient.

(2)  Services provided by a hospital, nursing home, or other health care facility, health care provider, or caregiver, or under the Community Care for the Elderly Act, do not constitute a hospice unless the facility, provider, or caregiver establishes a separate and distinct administrative program to provide home, residential, and homelike inpatient hospice services.

(3)(a)  A separately licensed hospice may not use a name which is substantially the same as the name of another hospice licensed under this part.

(b)  A licensed hospice which intends to change its name or address must notify the agency at least 60 days before making the change.

(4)  The license shall be displayed in a conspicuous place inside the hospice program office; shall be valid only in the possession of the person or public agency to which it is issued; shall not be subject to sale, assignment, or other transfer, voluntary or involuntary; and shall not be valid for any hospice other than the hospice for which originally issued.