(a) General provisions.
  (1) Definitions. The following words or terms, when used in this section, have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
    (A) Formal appeal--An administrative hearing requested by an interested party under subsection (d) of this section and conducted in accordance with procedures described at §§357.481 - 357.498 of this title (relating to Hearings Under the Administrative Procedure Act).
    (B) Informal review--The informal reexamination of an action or determination by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) under this chapter requested by an interested party and conducted in accordance with subsection (c) of this section.
    (C) Interested party--An HHSC Enterprise contracted or enrolled provider.
  (2) Standing to file informal reviews or formal appeals. Only an interested party has standing to file for an informal review or formal appeal under this section.
  (3) Subject matter of informal reviews and formal appeals. An interested party may request an informal review or formal appeal regarding an action or determination under §355.102 of this title (relating to General Principles of Allowable and Unallowable Costs), §355.103 of this title (relating to Specifications for Allowable and Unallowable Costs), §355.104 of this title (relating to Revenues), and §355.105 of this title (relating to General Reporting and Documentation Requirements, Methods and Procedures), or program-specific allowable or unallowable costs, taken specifically in regard to the interested party.
(b) Separation of informal reviews and formal appeals from the reimbursement determination process.
  (1) The filing of a request for an informal review or formal appeal under this section does not stay or delay implementation of reimbursement adopted by HHSC in accordance with the requirements of this chapter.
  (2) Closure of cost report databases used in the reimbursement determination process and application of results of pending review or appeal. To facilitate the timely and efficient calculation of reimbursement amounts, HHSC closes cost report databases used in the reimbursement determination process prior to the proposal of reimbursement amounts.
    (A) Impact on database of pending informal review or formal appeal. If an informal review is pending at the time the database is closed, the database shall include the interested party's cost report data including any adjustments made either in the desk review or field audit. If a formal appeal is pending at the time the database is closed, the database shall include the interested party's cost report data including any adjustments required as a result of the informal review.
    (B) Uniform reimbursement.
      (i) For programs where reimbursement is uniform by class of service and/or provider type, the cost report database used in reimbursement determination is closed six weeks prior to the public hearing on the proposed reimbursement that is based on the cost report database.
      (ii) If an informal review or formal appeal is pending at the time the cost report database is closed, the results of the informal review or formal appeal shall be applied during the next reimbursement determination cycle, if applicable.
    (C) Contractor-specific reimbursement.
      (i) For programs where reimbursement is contractor-specific the cost report database is closed ten weeks prior to the end of the reimbursement determination cycle.
      (ii) If an informal review or formal appeal is pending at the time the cost report database is closed, the results of the informal review or formal appeal shall be applied to the interested party's payment retroactively to the beginning of the current reimbursement determination cycle. The results of the informal review or formal appeal shall not be applied to the cost report database as a whole or to any other reimbursement amounts influenced by the cost report database as a whole until the next reimbursement determination cycle, if applicable.
(c) Informal review.
  (1) An interested party who disputes an action or determination under this chapter may request an informal review under this section. The purpose of an informal review is to provide for the informal and efficient resolution of the matters in dispute. An informal review is not a formal administrative hearing, but is a prerequisite to obtaining a formal administrative hearing and is conducted according to the following procedures:
    (A) HHSC Rate Analysis must receive a written request for an informal review by hand delivery, United States (U.S.) mail, or special mail delivery no later than 30 calendar days from the date on the written notification of the adjustments. If the 30th calendar day is a weekend day, national holiday, or state holiday, then the first business day following the 30th calendar day is the final day the receipt of the written request will be accepted. HHSC Rate Analysis will extend this deadline if it receives a written request for the extension by hand delivery, U.S. mail, or special mail delivery no later than 30 calendar days from the date of the written notice of adjustments. The extension gives the requester a total of 45 calendar days from the date of the written notice of adjustment to file a request for an informal review. If the 45th calendar day is a weekend day, national holiday, or state holiday, then the 45th day is considered the next business day following the 45th calendar day. A request for an informal review or extension that is not received by the stated deadline will not be accepted.
    (B) An interested party must, with its request for an informal review, submit a concise statement of the specific actions or determinations it disputes, its recommended resolution, and any supporting documentation the interested party deems relevant to the dispute. It is the responsibility of the interested party to render all pertinent information at the time of its request for an informal review. A request for an informal review that does not meet the requirements of this subparagraph will not be accepted.
    (C) The written request for the informal review or extension must be signed by an individual legally responsible for the conduct of the interested party, such as the sole proprietor, a partner, a corporate officer, an association officer, a governmental official, a limited liability company member, a person authorized by the applicable HHSC Enterprise or Texas Medicaid and Healthcare Partnership (TMHP) signature authority designation form for the interested party on file at the time of the request, or a legal representative for the interested party. The administrator or director of the facility or program is not authorized to sign the request unless the administrator or director holds one of these positions. A request for an informal review that is not signed by an individual legally responsible for the conduct of the interested party will not be accepted.
  (2) On receipt of a request for informal review:
    (A) The lead staff member coordinates the review of the information submitted by the interested party. Staff may request additional information from the interested party, which must be received in writing by hand delivery, United States (U.S.) mail, or special mail delivery by the lead staff member no later than 14 calendar days from the date the interested party receives the written request for additional information. If the 14th calendar day is a weekend day, national holiday, or state holiday, then the first business day following the 14th calendar day is the final day the receipt of the additional information will be accepted. Information received after 14 calendar days may not be used in the informal review written decision unless the interested party receives written approval of the lead staff member to submit the information after 14 calendar days. A request for an extension to the 14-calendar-day due date must be received by HHSC Rate Analysis prior to the 14th calendar day.
    (B) Within 30 calendar days of the date a written request for informal review that complies with paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection is received or the date additional requested information is due or received, whichever is later, the lead staff member will send the interested party its written decision by certified mail, return receipt requested. If the 30th calendar day is a weekend day, national holiday, or state holiday, then the first business day following the 30th calendar day is the final day by which the written decision must be sent.
(d) Administrative hearings. An interested party who disagrees with the results of an informal review conducted under subsection (c) of this section may file a formal appeal of the review. The HHSC Appeals Division, Mail Code W-613, P.O. Box 149030, Austin, Texas 78714-9030, must receive the written request for a formal appeal from the interested party within 15 calendar days after the interested party receives the written decision as specified in subsection (c) of this section. The written request for a formal appeal must state the basis of the appeal of the adverse action and include a legible copy of the written decision from the informal review referenced in subsection (c)(2)(B) of this section. The formal appeal is limited to the issues that were considered in the informal review process. The information from the interested party is limited to the pertinent information considered in the informal review process. Formal appeals are conducted in accordance with the provisions of §§357.481 - 357.498 of this title. If there is a conflict between the applicable section of Chapter 357 of this title (relating to Hearings) and the provisions of this chapter, the provisions of this chapter prevail.
(e) Lack of standing for formal appeal. Because the formal appeal is limited to issues considered in the informal review process, an informal review request that does not comply with subsection (c)(1)(A) - (C) of this section is not subject to further appeal under §§357.481 - 357.498 of this title.

Source Note: The provisions of this §355.110 adopted to be effective September 1, 1996, 21 TexReg 7866; duplicated effective September 1, 1997, as published in the Texas Register October 17, 1997, 22 TexReg 10311; amended to be effective June 26, 2000, 25 TexReg 6089; amended to be effective November 4, 2002, 27 TexReg 10367; amended to be effective April 1, 2004, 29 TexReg 3173; amended to be effective August 31, 2004, 29 TexReg 8093; amended to be effective April 1, 2007, 32 TexReg 1719; amended to be effective August 3, 2009, 34 TexReg 5062; amended to be effective September 1, 2011, 36 TexReg 4795