§ 441.355 Duration, extension, and amendment of a waiver.

(a) Effective dates and extension periods. (1) The effective date for a waiver of Medicaid requirements to furnish home and community-based services to individuals age 65 or older under this subpart is established by CMS prospectively on the first day of the FFY following the date on which the waiver is approved. (2) The initial waiver is approved for a 3-year period from the effective date. Subsequent renewals are approved for 5-year periods. (3) If the agency requests it, the waiver may be extended for an additional 5-year period if CMS's review of the prior period shows that the assurances required by § 441.352 were met. (4) The agency may request that waiver modifications be made effective retroactive to the first day of the waiver year in which the amendment is submitted, unless the amendment involves substantive change. Substantive changes may include, but are not limited to, addition of services under the waiver, a change in the qualifications of service providers, or a change in the eligible population. (5) A request for an amendment that involves a substantive change is given a prospective effective date, but this date need not coincide with the start of the next FFY. (b) Extension or new waiver request. CMS determines whether a request for extension of an existing waiver is actually an extension request, or a request for a new waiver. Generally, if a State's extension request proposes a substantive change in services furnished, eligible population, service area, statutory sections waived, or qualifications of service providers, CMS considers it a new waiver request. (c) Reconsideration of denial. A determination of CMS to deny a request for a waiver (or for extension of a waiver) under this subpart may be reconsidered in accordance with § 441.357. (d) Existing waiver effectiveness after denial. If CMS denies a request for an extension of an existing waiver under this subpart: (1) The existing waiver remains in effect for a period of not less than 90 days after the date on which CMS denies the request, or, if the State seeks reconsideration in accordance with § 441.357, the date on which a final determination is made with respect to that review. (2) CMS calculates an APEL for the period for which the waiver remains in effect, and this calculation is used to pro-rate the limit according to the number of days to which it applies.