1. No person may operate or undertake any proposed expenditure for the operation of a new medical helicopter that will provide medical helicopter services in an area located within 150 miles from the base of an existing medical helicopter without first applying for and obtaining the written approval of the Chief Medical Officer or the designee of the Chief Medical Officer.

2. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3, the Chief Medical Officer or the designee of the Chief Medical Officer may approve an application submitted pursuant to subsection 1 only if the applicant demonstrates that:

(a) Based on the needs of the specific population to be served by the new medical helicopter and on the projected number of persons who have or will have a need for the proposed service, the population to be served has a need for the new medical helicopter;

(b) The existing medical helicopter services in the area to be served by the new medical helicopter cannot or will not meet the projected needs of the population to be served by the new medical helicopter;

(c) The applicant has the financial stability to provide medical helicopter services to the population to be served by the new medical helicopter for a significant period of time;

(d) The new medical helicopter will result in a significant savings in costs for users of and payors for medical helicopter services;

(e) The new medical helicopter will not have an adverse effect on the quality of care provided to users of medical helicopter services and will not have an unnecessarily negative effect on the cost of medical helicopter services for users of or payors for such services; and

(f) The approval of the application will not adversely affect an existing provider of medical helicopter services.

3. The Chief Medical Officer or the designee of the Chief Medical Officer shall not approve an application submitted pursuant to subsection 1 if:

(a) The applicant fails to provide sufficient, relevant, demonstrative evidence for the approval of the application; or

(b) The evidence opposing the application outweighs the evidence supporting the application.

4. In determining whether to approve an application submitted pursuant to subsection 1, the Chief Medical Officer or the designee of the Chief Medical Officer shall:

(a) Contact existing providers of medical helicopter services, ensure that existing providers of medical helicopter services have an opportunity to participate in any public hearing concerning the application, and seek the input of existing providers of medical helicopter services concerning the application; and

(b) Consider:

(1) The level of medical care to be provided by the applicant to the population to be served by the new medical helicopter;

(2) The impact of the new medical helicopter on the rates, quality of service and safety of existing providers of medical helicopter services and on the level of medical care provided by such providers;

(3) The effect of the new medical helicopter on the cost of health care services; and

(4) Any other information the Chief Medical Officer or the designee of the Chief Medical Officer deems relevant.

5. An applicant whose application is rejected pursuant to this section may appeal the decision of the Chief Medical Officer or the designee of the Chief Medical Officer to the State Board of Health. The decision of the State Board of Health is a final decision for the purposes of judicial review.

6. As used in this section, “medical helicopter” means a helicopter especially designed, constructed, modified or equipped to be used for the transportation of injured or sick persons. The term does not include any commercial helicopter carrying passengers on regularly scheduled flights.

(Added to NRS by 2003, 1323)