§ 417.472 Basic contract requirements. ( a ) *Submittal of contract.* An HMO or CMP that wishes to contract with CMS to furnish services to Medicare beneficiaries must submit a signed contract that meets the requirements of this subpart and any other requirements established by CMS.
( b ) *Agreement to comply with regulations and instructions.* The contract must provide that the HMO or CMP agrees to comply with all the applicable requirements and conditions set forth in this subpart and in general instructions issued by CMS.
( c ) *Other contract provisions.* In addition to the requirements set forth in §§ 417.474 through 417.488, the contract must contain any other terms and conditions that CMS requires to implement section 1876 of the Act.
( d ) *Exemption from Federal procurement regulations.* The Federal Acquisition Regulations and HHS Acquisition Regulations contained in title 48 of the Code of Federal Regulations do not apply to Medicare contracts under section 1876 of the Act.
( e ) *Compliance with civil rights laws.* The HMO or CMP must comply with title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (regulations at 45 CFR part 80), section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (regulations at 45 CFR part 84), and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (regulations at 45 CFR part 91).
( f ) *Requirements for advance directives.* The HMO or CMP must meet all the requirements for advance directives at § 417.436(d).
( g ) *Authority to waive conflicting contract requirements.* Under section 1876(i)(5) of the Act, CMS is authorized to administer the terms of this subpart without regard to provisions of law or other regulations relating to the making, performance, amendment, or modification of contracts of the United States if it determines that those provisions are inconsistent with the efficient and effective administration of the Medicare program.
( h ) *Collection of fees from risk HMOs and CMPs.* ( 1 ) The rules set forth in § 422.10 of this chapter for M + C plans also apply to collection of fees from risk HMOs and CMPs.
( 2 ) In applying the part 422 rules, references to “M + C organizations” or “M + C plans” must be read as references to “risk HMOs and CMPs”.
( i ) *HMOs and CMPs.* The HMO or CMP must comply with the requirements at § 422.152(b)(5) and (6) of this chapter.
( j ) *Coordinated care and cost contracts.* Subject to paragraph (i) of this section, all coordinated care contracts (including local and regional PPOs, contracts with exclusively SNP benefit packages, private fee-for-service contracts, and MSA contracts), and all cost contracts under section 1876 of the Act, with 600 or more enrollees in July of the prior year, must contract with approved Medicare Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey vendors to conduct the Medicare CAHPS satisfaction survey of Medicare plan enrollees in accordance with CMS specifications and submit the survey data to CMS.
( k ) All cost contracts under section 1876 of the Act must agree to be rated under the quality rating system specified at subpart D of part 422, and for cost plans that provide the Part D prescription benefit, under the quality rating system specified at part 423 subpart D, of this chapter. Cost contacts are not required to submit data on or be rated on specific measures determined by CMS to be inapplicable to their contract or for which data are not available, including hospital readmission and call center measures.
( l ) *Resolution of complaints in the complaints tracking module.* The HMO or CMP must comply with requirements of §§ 422.125 and 422.504(a)(15) of this chapter to, through the CMS complaints tracking module as defined in § 422.125(a) of this chapter, address and resolve complaints received by CMS against the HMO or CMP within the required timeframes. References to the MA organization or MA plan in those regulations shall be read as references to the HMO or CMP.
[50 FR 1346, Jan. 10, 1985; 50 FR 20570, May 17, 1985, as amended at 57 FR 8202, Mar. 6, 1992; 58 FR 38079, July 15, 1993; 60 FR 45680, Sept. 1, 1995; 63 FR 35067, June 26, 1998; 75 FR 19802, Apr. 15, 2010; 83 FR 16721, Apr. 16, 2018; 85 FR 19289, Apr. 6, 2020; 89 FR 30812, Apr. 23, 2024]