(a) Opportunity to refute survey findings.

(1) For non-Federal surveys, the State must offer a facility an informal opportunity, at the facility's request, to dispute survey findings upon the facility's receipt of the official statement of deficiencies.

(2) For Federal surveys, CMS offers a facility an informal opportunity, at the facility's request, to dispute survey findings upon the facility's receipt of the official statement of deficiencies.

(3) For SNFs, dually-participating SNF/NFs, and NF-only facilities that have civil money penalties imposed by CMS that will be placed in a CMS escrow account, CMS also offers the facility an opportunity for independent informal dispute resolution, subject to the terms of paragraphs (b), (c), and (d) of this section and of §488.431. The facility must request independent informal dispute resolution in writing within 10 days of receipt of CMS's offer. However, a facility may not use the dispute resolution processes at both §§488.331 and 488.431 for the same deficiency citation arising from the same survey unless the informal dispute resolution process at §488.331 was completed prior to the imposition of the civil money penalty.

(b)

(1) Failure of the State or CMS, as appropriate, to complete informal dispute resolution timely cannot delay the effective date of any enforcement action against the facility.

(2) A facility may not seek a delay of any enforcement action against it on the grounds that informal dispute resolution has not been completed before the effective date of the enforcement action.

(c) If a provider is subsequently successful, during the informal dispute resolution process, at demonstrating that deficiencies should not have been cited, the deficiencies are removed from the statement of deficiencies and any enforcement actions imposed solely as a result of those cited deficiencies are rescinded.

(d) Notification. Upon request, CMS does and the State must provide the facility with written notification of the informal dispute resolution process.

[59 FR 56238, Nov. 10, 1994, as amended at 76 FR 15126, Mar. 18, 2011]