(a) Nonrenewal by an MA organization.

(1) An MA organization may elect not to renew its contract with CMS as of the end of the term of the contract for any reason provided it meets the timeframes for doing so set forth in paragraphs (a)(2) and (a)(3) of this section.

(2) If an MA organization does not intend to renew its contract, it must notify—

(i) CMS in writing, by the first Monday in June of the year in which the contract would end;

(ii) Each Medicare enrollee by mail at least 90 calendar days before the date on which the nonrenewal is effective. The MA organization must also provide information about alternative enrollment options by doing one or more of the following:

(A) Provide a CMS approved written description of alternative MA plan, MA-PD plan, and PDP options available for obtaining qualified Medicare services within the beneficiaries' region.

(B) Place outbound calls to all affected enrollees to ensure beneficiaries know who to contact to learn about their enrollment options.

(3) If an MA organization does not renew a contract under paragraph (a) of this section, CMS may deny an application for a new contract or a service area expansion from the MA organization for 2 years unless there are circumstances that warrant special consideration, as determined by CMS. This prohibition may apply regardless of the product type, contract type or service area of the previous contract.

(4) During the same 2-year period as specified in paragraph (a)(3) of this section, CMS will not contract with an organization whose covered persons also served as covered persons for the non-renewing sponsor. A “covered person” as used in this paragraph means one of the following:

(i) All owners of nonrenewed or terminated organizations who are natural persons, other than shareholders who have an ownership interest of less than 5 percent.

(ii) An owner in whole or part interest in any mortgage, deed of trust, note or other obligation secured (in whole or in part) by the organization, or any of the property or assets thereof, which whole or part interest is equal to or exceeds 5 percent of the total property, and assets of the organization.

(iii) A member of the board of directors or board of trustees of the entity, if the organization is organized as a corporation.

(b) [Reserved]

[63 FR 35099, June 26, 1998, as amended at 65 FR 40328, June 29, 2000; 67 FR 13289, Mar. 22, 2002; 70 FR 4737, Jan. 28, 2005; 72 FR 68723, Dec. 5, 2007; 74 FR 1542, Jan. 12, 2009; 75 FR 19811, Apr. 15, 2010; 76 FR 21568, Apr. 15, 2011; 80 FR 7961, Feb. 12, 2015; 83 FR 16734, Apr. 16, 2018]