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Policies governing the conduct of individual hearings are pertinent to group hearings. Each appellant will be given full opportunity to present his case or have his case presented by a representative at the group hearing. 4205.20.00 TIME LIMITS FOR REQUESTING APPEALS Appeals must be received by close of business not later than 33 days from the date of the action or issue being appealed.9 Close of business is 4:30 P.M., local time on the business day where the appeal is received. For recipients, the 33-day period is measured from the effective date of the action as recorded on the notice. For actions taken on applications, the 33-day period is measured from the date the notice of agency action is sent. For purposes of this Chapter 4200, “sent” means to be delivered by mail or in electronic format consistent with 42 CFR §435.918.10 Additionally, if the last day of the 33-day time falls on a non-business day, the appeal request is considered timely if it is received by close of business on the next business day.11 In cases involving a delay in acting on the application, the time limit for appealing begins as follows: 45 days after the date of application for all MED categories except Disability 90 days after the date of application for the Disability categories (regular Disability and MEDWorks). In cases in which action has not been taken on a reported change in circumstances, the time limit for appealing begins with the first day of the second month following the month in which the change in circumstances was reported to the DFR. If the appeal request is not received within the required time limits, the appeal is invalid, and a hearing will not be scheduled. The determination that an appeal is untimely and therefore invalid is made by Central Office Hearings and Appeals, not the DFR.12 4205.25.00 RESERVED 4205.26.00 CONTINUED BENEFITS WHILE APPEAL IS PENDING Benefits must continue without change if an appeal is received by the DFR not later than close of business on the day prior to the effective date of the proposed adverse action.13 If the day before the effective date is a non-business day, the appeal is timely if received by the next FSSA business day. Close of business is 4:30 P.M. local time when the appeal is received. The only exceptions to continued benefits are (1) the recipient declined continued benefits specifically in his appeal request, or (2) the reason for discontinuance was failure to pay any applicable Medicaid premium or failure to pay the POWER account payment required to remain eligible for the Healthy Indiana Plan.14 Once continued benefits are allowed, benefits are not to be reduced or terminated, for the reason under appeal, prior to receipt of the official hearing decision. Benefits can be reduced or terminated during an appeal only if there is another reason that causes a reduction or