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Page 2 of 5 § 10:70-2.1 Application 5. Assure the prompt and accurate submission of eligibility data to the Medicaid Status File for eligible persons and prompt notification to ineligible persons of the reasons for their ineligibility. (c) As part of the application process, the program applicant has the responsibility to: 1. Complete, with assistance from the county board of social services as needed, any forms required as part of the application process; 2. Assist the county board of social services in securing evidence that verifies his or her statements; 3. Report any change in circumstances that may affect program eligibility or amount of benefits; 4. Provide the county board of social services evidence, as requested, of incurred medical expenses and liability for payment; and 5. If applicable, submit to examinations or tests and provide such medical and other evidence as may be necessary to determine disability or blindness. (d) With the exceptions noted below, disposition of an application for the Medically Needy Program must be accomplished within 30 days of the date of application (or the date of the inquiry form PA-1C, if applicable) for AFDC-related cases and for persons applying on the basis of being aged. The disposition standard for the disabled and blind is 60 days from the date of application (or the date of the inquiry form PA-1C, if applicable). 1. "Disposition of the application" means the official determination by the county board of social services of application approval or rejection. 2. Disposition of the application may exceed the applicable processing standards when substantially reliable evidence of eligibility or entitlement is lacking at the end of the processing period. In such circumstances, the application may be continued in pending status. The county board of social services shall document that the delay in application processing resulted from one of the following: i. Circumstances wholly within the applicant's control; ii. A determination to afford the applicant, whose evidence of eligibility or entitlement is inconclusive, additional time to provide sufficient evidence of eligibility before final action on his or her application; iii. An administrative or other emergency that could not reasonably be avoided; or iv. Circumstances wholly outside the control of both the applicant and the county board of social services. 3. When application processing is delayed beyond the processing standards, the county board of social services shall provide to the program applicant written notification prior to the expiration of the processing period setting forth the specific reasons for the delay. 4. Each county board of social services director shall establish appropriate operational controls to expedite the processing of applications and assure maximum compliance with the processing standards. i. The county board of social services shall maintain control records which identify all pending applications which did not meet the processing standards and the reason therefor. That record shall be adequate to make possible the preparation of reports of such information as may be requested by the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services. (e) The following actions on an application qualify as disposition of an application for purposes of the processing standards: 1. Approved: The applicant(s) has been determined eligible for participation in the Medically Needy Program;