(a) The Board has full power and authority to make rules and establish procedures, not inconsistent with the law, regulations, and CMS Rulings, that are necessary or appropriate to carry out the provisions of section 1878 of the Act and of the regulations in this subpart. The Board's powers include the authority to take appropriate actions in response to the failure of a party to a Board appeal to comply with Board rules and orders or for inappropriate conduct during proceedings in the appeal.

(b) If a provider fails to meet a filing deadline or other requirement established by the Board in a rule or order, the Board may—

(1) Dismiss the appeal with prejudice;

(2) Issue an order requiring the provider to show cause why the Board should not dismiss the appeal; or

(3) Take any other remedial action it considers appropriate.

(c) If a contractor fails to meet a filing deadline or other requirement established by the Board, the Board may—

(1) Take other actions that it considers appropriate, such as—

(i) Issuing a decision based on the written record submitted to that point; or

(ii) Issuing a written notice to CMS describing the contractor's actions and requesting that CMS take appropriate action, such as review of the contractor's compliance with the contractual requirements of §§421.120, 421.122, and 421.124 of this chapter; and

(2) Not use its authority to take an action such as, a sanction, reversing or modifying the contractor's or Secretary's determination for the cost reporting period under appeal, or ruling against the contractor on a disputed issue of law or fact in the appeal.

(d)

(1) If the Board dismisses the appeal with prejudice under this section, it must issue a dismissal decision dismissing the appeal. The decision by the Board must be in writing and include an explanation of the reason for the dismissal. A copy of the Board's dismissal decision must be mailed promptly to each party to the appeal (as described in §405.1843 of this subpart).

(2) A dismissal decision by the Board is final and binding on the parties unless the decision is reversed, affirmed, modified, or remanded by the Administrator under §405.1875(a)(2)(ii), and §405.1875(e) or §405.1875(f) of this part, no later than 60 days after the date of receipt by the provider of the Board's decision.

(i) The Board decision is inoperative during the 60-day period for review by the Administrator, or in the event the Administrator reverses, affirms, modifies, or remands the decision within the period.

(ii) The Board may reopen and revise a final Board decision in accordance with §§405.1885 through 405.1889 of this subpart.

(e)

(1) Any action taken by the Board under this section other than dismissal of the appeal is not subject to immediate Administrator review (as described in §405.1875(a)(3) of this subpart) or judicial review (as described in §405.1877(a)(3) of this subpart).

(2) A Board action other than dismissal of the appeal may be reviewed solely during the course of Administrator review of one of the Board decisions specified as final, or deemed to be final by the Administrator, under §405.1875(a)(2) of this subpart, or of judicial review of a final agency decision as described in §405.1877(a) of this subpart, as applicable.

(f) Ex parte communications with Board staff concerning procedural matters are not prohibited.

(g) Upon receipt of a credible allegation that a party's representative has divulged to that party, or to the Board, information that was obtained during the course of the representative's relationship (such as legal counsel or employee) with an opposing party and that was intended by that party to be kept confidential, the Board—

(1) Investigates the allegation; and

(2) May take remedial action when it determines that it is appropriate to do so, against the party or the representative (such as prohibiting the representative from appearing before it, excluding such information from the record, or if the overall fairness of the hearing has been compromised, dismissing the case).

[73 FR 30260, May 23, 2008; 73 FR 49356, Aug. 21, 2008]