BROCHURE

Guide to Administrative Hearings on Medicaid Programs

(APD logo)
Agency for Persons with Disabilities
State of Florida

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The Florida Agency for Persons with
Disabilities (APD) offers two types of
administrative hearings to individuals
substantially affected by actions of
the agency. If APD seeks to deny,
reduce, terminate, or suspend Medicaid
Waiver services, then the hearings
are conducted by the Office of Appeal
Hearings, Department of Children
and Families (DCF). If APD seeks to
take action that is unrelated to the
Medicaid Program, then the hearings
are conducted by either the Division of
Administrative Hearings or an Agency
Hearing Officer. The purpose of these
hearings is to provide an opportunity for
an impartial, objective review of actions
APD proposes to take in the programs it
administers.

This brochure discusses your
administrative hearing rights related to
the Medicaid Waiver program.

According to federal Medicaid
regulations (42 CFR s. 431.200 et seq.),
at the time the individual applies for
Medicaid and at the time of any action
affecting his or her claim, the agency
is required to inform every applicant or
recipient in writing of the following:

1. If you disagree with the agency’s
decision, you have the right to
request a hearing.

2. You may request a hearing by filing a
written request with the agency no later
than 30 days after you receive written
notice of the agency’s intended action. A
hearing request is considered filed when
it is actually received by the agency,
not when it is put in the mail. A hearing
request received after 5 p.m., or on a day
that the agency is not open for business,
is considered filed at 8 a.m. on the next
day the agency is open for business.
A hearing request that is sent by fax is
considered filed when it is received, not
when it is sent, subject to the same time
limits discussed above.

3. At the hearing, you are permitted to
represent yourself, use legal counsel,
or use a relative, friend, or other
representative to present your case.

If APD has notified you that it intends to
reduce, terminate, or suspend Medicaid
Waiver services that you are already
receiving and you file your hearing
request within 10 days of your receipt of
the agency’s notice, you will continue to
receive services at the prior level until a
decision is rendered after the hearing.

To assist you in filing your hearing
request, the agency has drafted a
Hearing Request form which is normally
included with the Agency Notice. While
you are not required to use this form,
according to Florida law, your request
must be in writing and it must contain
the following information:

1. The name, address, and telephone
number of the person for whom
the hearing is being requested,
as well as the name, address, and
telephone number of the person’s
counsel or representative designated
to receive pleadings and other
official papers.

2. A statement that you are requesting
an administrative hearing and dispute
the facts alleged by the agency, in
which case the facts in dispute must
be identified; or that you are
requesting a hearing but do not
dispute the facts underlying the
agency’s decision.

3. A reference to, or copy of, the
agency’s decision and the date
on which you received it.

If you are a competent adult, you
must sign the hearing request form
(unless it is filed by an attorney
you have hired to represent you) or
you must submit a signed document
indicating that you are authorizing
another person to file it on your
behalf. If you are not a competent
adult, the person filing the hearing
request for you must have the legal
authority to act on your behalf, such
as a legal guardian, parent of a
minor, or power of attorney, and must
submit a copy of the paperwork that
gives them that authority.

You may obtain assistance with your
hearing request by contacting your local
APD area office.

When the agency determines that the
hearing request was filed on time and is
complete, it will be forwarded to DCF’s
Office of Appeal Hearings. Once the
office receives your hearing request,
it will assign your case to one of its
hearing officers. You will then be notified
and provided with information explaining
how the hearing will be conducted.

In accordance with the Americans with
Disabilities Act, persons needing special
accommodations to participate in the
proceedings should contact the hearing
officer assigned by the Office of Appeal
Hearings no later than seven days prior to
the hearing.

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Agency for Persons with Disabilities
4030 Esplanade Way, Suite 380
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0950
1-866-APD-CARES (1-866-273-2273)
(850) 488-4257
apdcares.org

October 2010