Appeal Representative

(A) An appellant has the right to be represented at his or her own expense by an appeal representative as defined in 130 CMR 610.004. If the person filing the appeal is not the appellant, all documentation required to demonstrate that the person requesting the appeal is an appeal representative in accordance with 130 CMR 610.004 must be submitted either at the time the hearing is requested or before the hearing is scheduled. The MassHealth agency must provide copies of all documents related to the fair hearing process to the appellant and to the appeal representative, if any. An appeal representative may exercise on the appellant's behalf any of the appellant's rights under 130 CMR 610.000. (B) If a timely request for a hearing is filed but the applicant or member has died prior to the filing, BOH must be informed of the death of the applicant or member at the time of a request for a hearing by the person filing the appeal. In addition, the filing of the appeal on behalf of such a deceased individual must be accompanied by one of the following: (1) (a) written proof that the person filing the appeal is a personal representative of the applicant’s or member’s estate with a current and valid appointment from a court of proper jurisdiction; or (b) if there is no such personal representative, then written proof of a currently pending petition, docketed in a court of proper jurisdiction, which seeks the appointment of such a personal representative. In addition, the person filing the appeal must notify BOH in writing of the status of the pending petition every 30 days and, once a personal representative with a current and valid appointment has been established, the personal representative must submit written proof of such authority and a desire to pursue the appeal to BOH, within ten days of the appointment. (2) Failure to comply with all of the requirements in 130 CMR 610.016(B) may constitute grounds for dismissal. (C) When an appeal representative also acts as an interpreter for the appellant, the appellant must give sufficient consent on the hearing record. The purpose of this guideline is to enable appellants with limited English proficiency to understand and to participate in the entire hearing as fully as if the appellant was fluent in English.