(a) The ALJ has the authority, including all of the authority conferred by the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. § 554a), to adopt whatever procedures may be necessary or proper to carry out in an efficient and effective manner the ALJ’s duty to provide a fair and impartial hearing on the record and to issue an initial decision concerning the imposition of a civil money penalty of a QHP offered in a Federally-facilitated Exchange, State Exchange, and State-based Exchange on the Federal platform, or the decertification of a QHP offered in a Federally-facilitated Exchange.

(b) The ALJ’s authority includes the authority to modify, consistent with the Administrative Procedures Act (5 U.S.C. § 552a), any hearing procedures set out in this subpart.

(c) The ALJ does not have the authority to find invalid or refuse to follow Federal statutes or regulations.

[78 FR 65101, Oct. 30, 2013, as amended at 86 FR 24293, May 5, 2021]