(a) Basic rules. Coverage may be reinstated without interruption of benefits if the following conditions are met:

(1) The enrollee appeals the termination by the end of the month following the month in which SSA sent the notice of termination.

(2) The enrollee alleges and it is found that the enrollee did not receive timely and adequate notice that the premiums were overdue.

(3) The enrollee pays, within 30 days after SSA's subsequent request for payment, all premiums due through the month in which he or she appealed the termination.

(b) Basis for reinstating coverage. Coverage may be reinstated if the evidence establishes one of the following:

(1) The enrollee acted diligently to pay the premiums or to request relief upon receiving a premium notice very late in the grace period or shortly after its end, and the delayed notice was not the enrollee's fault. (For example, if the billing notice was misaddressed or lost in the mail, it would not be the enrollee's fault; if the enrollee had moved and not notified SSA of the new address, he or she would be responsible for the delay.)

(2) On the basis of information given by SSA, the enrollee could reasonably have believed that the premiums were being paid by deduction from benefits or by some other means. (An example would be a notice indicating that premiums would be paid by a State Medicaid agency or a group payer or would be deducted from the spouse's civil service annuity.)

(c) No basis for reinstating coverage. Coverage may not be reinstated if the enrollee—

(1) Received timely and adequate notice but failed to pay within the grace period, for example because of insufficient income or resources; or

(2) Appealed the termination more than one month after the month in which SSA sent the termination notice.