§16.7. The first steps in the appeal process: The notice of appeal and the Board's response. — Inbound Citations

(1) A State that is dissatisfied with CMS's determination under paragraph (c) of this section that the State must suspend procedural disenrollments or pay civil money penalties because the State has failed to submit or implement an approvable corrective action plan may appeal, pursuant to 45 CFR part 16, the imposition of such suspensions of procedural disenrollments or civil money penalties to the Departmental Appeals Board (the Board) within 30 days after receipt of a notice described in paragraph (c)(2) of this section. The appeal request must comply with 45 CFR 16.7, and the process for counting days to submit an appeal will follow the provisions under 45 CFR 16.19. The appeals process is governed by 45 CFR part 16. If the State does not submit an appeal request within the 30-day timeframe provided for an appeal to the Board, then the decision described in the notice received by the State under paragraph (c)(2) of this section is the final decision of the Secretary and is final agency action within the meaning of 5 U.S.C. 704.

(1) Within 30 days after receiving the Board's acknowledgment of the appeal (see § 16.7), each party shall submit to the Board and the other party any relevant background documents (organized as required under § 16.8), with a cover letter (generally not to exceed ten pages) containing any arguments the party wishes to make.

(b) All submissions after the notice of appeal should identify the Board's docket number (the Board's acknowledgement under § 16.7 will specify the docket number).