No health facility licensed under the provisions of Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 1250) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code shall be entitled to receive, or shall receive, any payment whatsoever from the director, or from any prepaid health plan, for any services rendered to any Medi-Cal program beneficiary if the health facility has commenced construction of a project after January 1, 1977, and the health facility has failed to obtain a certificate of need covering such project issued pursuant to Part 1.5 (commencing with Section 437) of Division 1 of the Health and Safety Code. Upon commencement of such a project, or as soon thereafter as possible, the director or the prepaid health plan shall notify the facility in writing of termination of all payments for any services rendered in any portion of the facility after 30 days from the date the notice is mailed.
For the purposes of this section, a “project” shall mean any project for which a certificate of need is required pursuant to Part 1.5 (commencing with Section 437) of Division 1 of the Health and Safety Code.