(1) Proposed exhibits.

(a) Proposed exhibits are documents or other objects that a party wants the administrative law judge (ALJ) to consider when reaching a decision.

(b) After the document or object is accepted by the ALJ, it is admitted and becomes an exhibit.

(2) Marking and numbering proposed exhibits and providing copies.

(a) All parties should mark and number their proposed exhibits before the hearing.

(b) All parties should send their proposed exhibits to the office of administrative hearings (OAH) and to all other parties in advance of the hearing.

(c) Parties should bring to the hearing enough copies of their proposed exhibits for all parties if those exhibits were not provided prior to the hearing.

(d) If the party who requested the hearing cannot afford to provide copies of its exhibits for all parties, the requesting party must make its proposed exhibits available for copying. The ALJ may require proof that the requesting party is unable to afford copies.

(3) Admitting proposed exhibits into the record.

(a) The ALJ decides whether to admit a proposed exhibit into the record and also determines the importance of the evidence.

(b) The ALJ admits proposed exhibits into the record by marking, listing, identifying, and admitting the proposed exhibits.

(c) The ALJ must make rulings on the record to admit or exclude exhibits.

(4) Disagreeing with an exhibit proposed by another party.

(a) A party may object to the authenticity or admissibility of any exhibit, or offer argument about how much importance the ALJ should give the exhibit.

(b) Even if a party agrees that a proposed exhibit is a true and authentic copy of a document, the agreement does not mean that a party agrees with:

(i) Everything in the exhibit or agrees that it should apply to the hearing;

(ii) What the exhibit says; or

(iii) How the ALJ should use the exhibit to make a decision.

(c) The ALJ may also exclude proposed exhibits from the record.

(5) The following rules apply to filing proposed exhibits with OAH and serving them on the other parties for a telephonic hearing:

(a) Parties should file their proposed exhibits with OAH and serve them on the other parties at least five days before the telephonic hearing. In some cases, the ALJ may require that the parties file and serve them earlier.

(b) The health care authority hearing representative may help the appellant file copies of proposed exhibits with OAH and serve the other parties if the appellant cannot afford to do so. The ALJ may require the appellant to provide proof that they are unable to afford to do so.