Opinion ID: 429783
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Effective Date of the Deputy Administrator's Decision.

Text: 41 Finally, the plaintiffs contend that, even if the 60 day period for secretarial review begins to run from the date that providers receive notice of the Board's decision, the Secretary's decision was untimely. Although the Deputy Administrator's decision is dated March 6, 1980, it was not mailed until March 11, 1980, 64 days after the date on which the plaintiffs received the Board's decision. The plaintiffs maintain that it was not until this second date, March 11, 1980, that the Deputy Administrator's decision became effective. 42 The plaintiffs assert that an agency decision must be placed in the public domain before it becomes effective. They cite the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure which require that a judicial decision must first be placed in the public domain before it constitutes a final judgment. 10 Yet the administrative rules governing the Secretary's review do not require the entry of her decisions in an official docket; hence, we cannot analogize the act determining the appealability of a judicial order to that determining the effectiveness of the Secretary's decision. See Chem-Haulers, Inc. v. United States, 536 F.2d 610, 615 (5th Cir.1976); Statler Distributors v. Alexander, 148 F.2d 74, 75 (1st Cir.1945). Instead, we must examine the statutory language of section 1395oo(f)(1) and the interpretation given by the agency charged with its administration to determine when the Secretary's decision became effective. Id. at 613-15. 43 Section 1395oo(f)(1) requires only that the Secretary reverse, affirm or modify the Board's decision within 60 days. There is no additional requirement that the decision must be entered on any docket or mailed within that 60-day review period. 11 The regulation promulgated under section 1395oo(f)(1) provides only that the Secretary make her decision within 60 days and that she promptly notify the parties of her decision. 12 44 In HCFA practice, once a Board decision is received for review, a master control sheet is prepared and attached to the file. As the file passes between the Deputy Administrator's Office and the Office of the Attorney-Advisor, this control sheet is signed and dated by those handling the file. In this fashion, a record is kept with regard to what action has been taken on the case. Record Vol. I at 141-43. 45 When the Deputy Administrator signs his decision, he hand-dates and signs the control sheet accompanying the file. The Secretary's position is that upon this act, her decision becomes effective. In the instant case, the Deputy Administrator signed and dated both the decision and the control sheet on March 6, 1980, 59 days after the plaintiffs received the Board's decision. Thus, the Secretary maintains her decision was timely. 46 It is established that interpretations of a statute by the agency charged with its administration should weigh heavily absent a compelling reason to the contrary. See, e.g., Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. F.C.C., 395 U.S. 367, 381, 89 S.Ct. 1794, 1801, 23 L.Ed.2d 371 (1969). This is not the precise situation before us, but we are persuaded that the Secretary's interpretation of section 1395oo(f)(1) is similarly entitled to some deference, especially where there is no compelling precedent 13 or reason tending to support an opposite view. 14 See Chem-Haulers, Inc. v. United States, 536 F.2d at 615. We hold, therefore, that the Secretary's decision became effective on March 6, 1980, and that her reversal of the Board's decision was timely. 15 47