(a)

(1) A licensee may contest an assessment of a civil penalty or any administrative remedy imposed by the Office of Long-Term Care by sending a written request for a hearing to the Director of the Department of Human Services.

(2) Requests for hearings shall be received by the Director of the Department of Human Services within sixty (60) days after receipt by the licensee of the notice of violation and the assessment of any civil penalty or any administrative remedy imposed by the office.

(b)

(1) The Director of the Department of Human Services shall assign the appeal to a fair and impartial hearing officer who shall not be a full-time employee of the Department of Human Services.

(2) The hearing officer shall preside over the hearing and make findings of fact and conclusions of law in the form of a recommendation to the Director of the Department of Human Services.

(3) The Director of the Department of Human Services shall review any recommendation and make the final decision. He or she:

(A) May approve the recommendation; or

(B) May for good cause:

(i) Modify the recommendation in whole or in part; or

(ii)

(a) Remand the recommendation for further proceedings as directed by him or her.

(b) If the recommendation is remanded, the hearing officer shall conduct further proceedings as directed by the Director of the Department of Human Services and shall submit an amended recommendation to the Director of the Department of Human Services.

(4) If the Director of the Department of Human Services modifies a recommendation, in whole or in part, or if the Director of the Department of Human Services remands the decision, he or she shall state in writing at the time of the remand or modification all grounds for the remand or modification, including statutory, regulatory, factual, or other grounds.

(5) The modification or approval of a recommendation by the Director of the Department of Human Services shall be the final agency action as provided by the Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act, § 25-15-201 et seq.

(c) (1) (A) The department shall commence the hearing within forty-five (45) days of receipt of the request for hearing, and the hearing officer shall notify the Director of the Office of Long-Term Care of the date, time, and place of the hearing.

(B) The notification shall be in writing and shall be sent at least twenty (20) days before the hearing date.

(C)

(i) The licensee may agree in writing to waive the requirement that the department commence the hearing within forty-five (45) days.

(ii) If the licensee waives the time limit under subdivision (c)(1) (C)(i) of this section, the hearing officer shall commence the hearing at the time agreed to by the parties.

(2) The hearing officer shall issue a recommended decision within ten (10) working days after the close of the hearing, the receipt of the transcript, or the submission of post-trial briefs requested or approved by the hearing officer, whichever is latest.

(3) Unless the Director of the Department of Human Services acts on the recommendation of the hearing officer within sixty (60) days of receipt of the recommendation, the recommendation of the hearing officer shall be final.

(4) Assessments shall be paid to the office within thirty (30) working days of receipt of the notice of violation or within thirty (30) working days of receipt of the final agency action in contested cases, unless the matter has been timely appealed to circuit court.

(5) Facilities failing to pay assessed civil penalties shall be subject to a corresponding reduction in the succeeding Medicaid vendor payment in lieu of nonpayment.

(d) Except to the extent that it is inconsistent with federal law or regulation, a written request for a hearing shall stay until denied by the Director of the Department of Human Services any enforcement action imposed by the office pending the hearing and the final decision of the Director of the Department of Human Services.

(e) Any party subject to appear before a hearing officer may appear and be heard at any proceeding prescribed in this section or may be represented by an attorney or other designated representative, or both.

(f)

(1) Upon written request of a licensee, the department shall provide copies of all documents, papers, reports, and other information gathered through inspection or survey that relate to the matter being appealed.

(2) The disclosure shall be made no later than ten (10) working days before a scheduled hearing date or by the date specified by the hearing officer.