(a) Format for a request. A party or parties must submit a request for an advisory opinion to CMS according to the instructions specified on the CMS Web site.

(b) Information CMS requires with all submissions. The request must include the following:

(1) The name, address, telephone number, and Taxpayer Identification Number of the requestor.

(2) The names and addresses, to the extent known, of all other actual and potential parties to the arrangement that is the subject of the request.

(3) The name, title, address, and daytime telephone number of a contact person who will be available to discuss the request with CMS on behalf of the requestor.

(4) A complete and specific description of all relevant information bearing on the arrangement, including—

(i) A complete description of the arrangement that the requestor is undertaking, or plans to undertake, including:

(A) The purpose of the arrangement; the nature of each party's (including each entity's) contribution to the arrangement; the direct or indirect relationships between the parties, with an emphasis on the relationships between physicians involved in the arrangement (or their immediate family members who are involved); and

(B) Any entities that provide designated health services; the types of services for which a physician wishes to refer, and whether the referrals will involve Medicare or Medicaid patients;

(ii) Complete copies of all relevant documents or relevant portions of documents that affect or could affect the arrangement, such as personal service or employment contracts, leases, deeds, pension or insurance plans, or financial statements (or, if these relevant documents do not yet exist, a complete description, to the best of the requestor's knowledge, of what these documents are likely to contain);

(iii) Detailed statements of all collateral or oral understandings, if any; and

(iv) Descriptions of any other arrangements or relationships that could affect CMS's analysis.

(5) The identity of all entities involved either directly or indirectly in the arrangement, including their names, addresses, legal form, ownership structure, nature of the business (products and services) and, if relevant, their Medicare and Medicaid provider numbers. The requestor must also include a brief description of any other entities that could affect the outcome of the opinion, including those with which the requestor, the other parties, or the immediate family members of involved physicians, have any financial relationships (either direct or indirect, and as defined in section 1877(a)(2) of the Act and §411.354), or in which any of the parties holds an ownership or control interest as defined in section 1124(a)(3) of the Act.

(6) At the option of the requestor, a discussion of the specific issues or questions to be addressed by CMS including, if possible, a discussion of why the requestor believes the referral prohibition in section 1877 of the Act might or might not be triggered by the arrangement and which, if any, exceptions the requestor believes might apply. The requestor should attempt to designate which facts are relevant to each issue or question raised in the request and should cite the provisions of law under which each issue or question arises.

(7) An indication of whether the parties involved in the request have also asked for or are planning to ask for an advisory opinion on the arrangement in question from the OIG under section 1128D(b) of the Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a-7d(b)) and whether the arrangement is or is not, to the best of the requestor's knowledge, the subject of an investigation.

(8) The certification(s) described in §411.373. The certification(s) must be signed by—

(i) The requestor, if the requestor is an individual;

(ii) The chief executive officer, or other authorized officer, of the requestor, if the requestor is a corporation;

(iii) The managing partner of the requestor, if the requestor is a partnership; or

(iv) A managing member, if the requestor is a limited liability company.

(c) Additional information CMS might require. If the request does not contain all of the information required by paragraph (b) of this section, or, if either before or after accepting the request, CMS believes it needs more information in order to render an advisory opinion, it may request whatever additional information or documents it deems necessary. Additional information must be provided in writing, signed by the same person who signed the initial request (or by an individual in a comparable position), and be certified as described in §411.373.

(d) Requests for expedited review. Parties may seek expedited review of arrangements under §411.380(c)(1)(i) for a determination as to whether the arrangement or course of conduct is indistinguishable in all material aspects from an arrangement or course of conduct that was the subject of a prior advisory opinion. Parties seeking such expedited review must identify the relevant advisory opinion and provide an explanation of why the subject arrangement is indistinguishable from the arrangement that was the subject of the prior relevant advisory opinion. Requestors should clearly and prominently indicate in their submission to CMS that they are seeking expedited review.

[69 FR 57227, Sept. 24, 2004, as amended at 81 FR 80553, Nov. 15, 2016; 84 FR 63191, Nov. 15, 2019]