(a) Initial demonstration application content. (1) Applications for initial approval of a demonstration will not be considered complete unless they comply with the public notice process set forth in § 431.408(a) of this subpart, and include the following:

(i) A comprehensive program description of the demonstration, including the goals and objectives to be implemented under the demonstration project.

(ii) A description of the proposed health care delivery system, eligibility requirements, benefit coverage and cost sharing (premiums, copayments, and deductibles) required of individuals who will be impacted by the demonstration to the extent such provisions would vary from the State's current program features and the requirements of the Act.

(iii) An estimate of the expected increase or decrease in annual enrollment, and in annual aggregate expenditures, including historic enrollment or budgetary data, if applicable.

(iv) Current enrollment data, if applicable, and enrollment projections expected over the term of the demonstration for each category of beneficiary whose health care coverage is impacted by the demonstration.

(v) Other program features that the demonstration would modify in the State's Medicaid and CHIP programs.

(vi) The specific waiver and expenditure authorities that the State believes to be necessary to authorize the demonstration.

(vii) The research hypotheses that are related to the demonstration's proposed changes, goals, and objectives, a plan for testing the hypotheses in the context of an evaluation, and, if a quantitative evaluation design is feasible, the identification of appropriate evaluation indicators.

(viii) Written documentation of the State's compliance with the public notice requirements set forth in § 431.408 of this subpart, with a report of the issues raised by the public during the comment period, which shall be no less than 30 days, and how the State considered those comments when developing the demonstration application.

(2) CMS may request, or the State may propose application modifications, as well as additional information to aid in the review of the application. If an application modification substantially changes the original demonstration design, CMS may, at its discretion, direct an additional 30-day public comment period.

(3) This section does not preclude a State from submitting to CMS a pre-application concept paper or from conferring with CMS about its intent to seek a demonstration prior to submitting a completed application.

(b) Demonstration application procedures. A State application for approval of a new demonstration project or an extension of an existing demonstration project must be submitted to CMS as both printed and electronic documents. Electronic documents must be submitted in a format that will be accessible to individuals with disabilities.

(1) Consistent with § 431.416(a) of this subpart, within 15 days of receipt of a complete application, CMS will send the State a written notice informing the State of receipt of the submitted application, the date in which the Secretary received the State's demonstration application and the start date of the 30-day Federal public notice process set forth in § 431.416 of this subpart. The written notice—

(i) Is provided for purposes of initiating the Federal-level public comment period and does not preclude a determination that, based on further review, further information is required to supplement or support the application, or that the application cannot be approved because a required element is missing or insufficient.

(ii) Does not prevent a State from modifying its application or submitting any supplementary information it determines necessary to support CMS' review of its application.

(2) Within 15 days of receipt of a demonstration application that CMS determines is incomplete, CMS will send the State a written notice of the elements missing from the application.

(3) CMS will publish on its Web site at regular intervals the status of all State submissions, including information received from the State while the State works with CMS to meet the demonstration application process set forth in this section.

(c) Demonstration extension request. A request to extend an existing demonstration under sections 1115(a), (e), and (f) of the Act will be considered only if it is submitted at least 12 months prior to the expiration date of the demonstration when requesting an extension under section 1115(e) of the Act or 6 months prior to the expiration date of the demonstration when requesting an extension under section 1115(a) or (f) of the Act, unless a longer time frame is specified in the Special Terms and Conditions for the original demonstration. An extension application, including an extension for the purpose of phasing out a demonstration, must be sent from the Governor of the State to the Secretary.

(1) Changes to existing demonstration. If an extension application includes substantial changes to the existing demonstration, CMS may, at its discretion, treat the application as an application for a new demonstration.

(2) Demonstration extension application. An application to extend an existing demonstration will be considered complete, for purposes of initiating the Federal-level public notice period, when the State provides the following:

(i) A historical narrative summary of the demonstration project, which includes the objectives set forth at the time the demonstration was approved, evidence of how these objectives have or have not been met, and the future goals of the program.

(ii) If changes are requested, a narrative of the changes being requested along with the objective of the change and the desired outcomes.

(iii) A list and programmatic description of the waivers and expenditure authorities that are being requested for the extension period, or a statement that the State is requesting the same waiver and expenditure authorities as those approved in the current demonstration.

(iv) Summaries of External Quality Review Organization (EQRO) reports, managed care organization (MCO) and State quality assurance monitoring, and any other documentation of the quality of and access to care provided under the demonstration, such as the CMS Form 416 EPSDT/CHIP report.

(v) Financial data demonstrating the State's historical and projected expenditures for the requested period of the extension, as well as cumulatively over the lifetime of the demonstration. This includes a financial analysis of changes to the demonstration requested by the State.

(vi) An evaluation report of the demonstration, inclusive of evaluation activities and findings to date, plans for evaluation activities during the extension period, and if changes are requested, identification of research hypotheses related to the changes and an evaluation design for addressing the proposed revisions.

(vii) Documentation of the State's compliance with the public notice process set forth in § 431.408 of this subpart, including the post-award public input process described in § 431.420(c) of this subpart, with a report of the issues raised by the public during the comment period and how the State considered the comments when developing the demonstration extension application.

(3) CMS may request, or the State may propose application modifications, as well as additional information to aid in the review of an application to extend a demonstration. If an application modification substantially changes the original demonstration design, CMS may, at its discretion, direct an additional 30-day public comment period.

(4) Upon application from the State, the Secretary may extend existing demonstration projects on a temporary basis for the period during which a successor demonstration is under review, without regard to the date when the application was submitted.

(d) Approvals. Approval of a new demonstration or a demonstration extension will generally be prospective only and Federal Financial Participation (FFP) will not be available for changes to the demonstration that have not been approved by CMS.