The Florida Senate

641.3155  Payment of claims.--

(1)(a)  As used in this section, the term "clean claim" for a noninstitutional provider means a claim submitted on a HCFA 1500 form which has no defect or impropriety, including lack of required substantiating documentation for noncontracted providers and suppliers, or particular circumstances requiring special treatment which prevent timely payment from being made on the claim. A claim may not be considered not clean solely because a health maintenance organization refers the claim to a medical specialist within the health maintenance organization for examination. If additional substantiating documentation, such as the medical record or encounter data, is required from a source outside the health maintenance organization, the claim is considered not clean. This definition of "clean claim" is repealed on the effective date of rules adopted by the department which define the term "clean claim."

(b)  Absent a written definition that is agreed upon through contract, the term "clean claim" for an institutional claim is a properly and accurately completed paper or electronic billing instrument that consists of the UB-92 data set or its successor with entries stated as mandatory by the National Uniform Billing Committee.

(c)  The department shall adopt rules to establish claim forms consistent with federal claim-filing standards for health maintenance organizations required by the federal Health Care Financing Administration. The department may adopt rules relating to coding standards consistent with Medicare coding standards adopted by the federal Health Care Financing Administration.

(2)(a)  A health maintenance organization shall pay any clean claim or any portion of a clean claim made by a contract provider for services or goods provided under a contract with the health maintenance organization or a clean claim made by a noncontract provider which the organization does not contest or deny within 35 days after receipt of the claim by the health maintenance organization which is mailed or electronically transferred by the provider.

(b)  A health maintenance organization that denies or contests a provider's claim or any portion of a claim shall notify the provider, in writing, within 35 days after the health maintenance organization receives the claim that the claim is contested or denied. The notice that the claim is denied or contested must identify the contested portion of the claim and the specific reason for contesting or denying the claim, and, if contested, must include a request for additional information. If the provider submits additional information, the provider must, within 35 days after receipt of the request, mail or electronically transfer the information to the health maintenance organization. The health maintenance organization shall pay or deny the claim or portion of the claim within 45 days after receipt of the information.

(3)  Payment of a claim is considered made on the date the payment was received or electronically transferred or otherwise delivered. An overdue payment of a claim bears simple interest at the rate of 10 percent per year. Interest on an overdue payment for a clean claim or for any uncontested portion of a clean claim begins to accrue on the 36th day after the claim has been received. The interest is payable with the payment of the claim.

(4)  A health maintenance organization shall pay or deny any claim no later than 120 days after receiving the claim. Failure to do so creates an uncontestable obligation for the health maintenance organization to pay the claim to the provider.

(5)(a)  If, as a result of retroactive review of coverage decisions or payment levels, a health maintenance organization determines that it has made an overpayment to a provider for services rendered to a subscriber, the organization must make a claim for such overpayment. The organization may not reduce payment to that provider for other services unless the provider agrees to the reduction or fails to respond to the organization's claim as required in this subsection.

(b)  A provider shall pay a claim for an overpayment made by a health maintenance organization which the provider does not contest or deny within 35 days after receipt of the claim that is mailed or electronically transferred to the provider.

(c)  A provider that denies or contests an organization's claim for overpayment or any portion of a claim shall notify the organization, in writing, within 35 days after the provider receives the claim that the claim for overpayment is contested or denied. The notice that the claim for overpayment is denied or contested must identify the contested portion of the claim and the specific reason for contesting or denying the claim, and, if contested, must include a request for additional information. If the organization submits additional information, the organization must, within 35 days after receipt of the request, mail or electronically transfer the information to the provider. The provider shall pay or deny the claim for overpayment within 45 days after receipt of the information.

(d)  Payment of a claim for overpayment is considered made on the date payment was received or electronically transferred or otherwise delivered to the organization, or the date that the provider receives a payment from the organization that reduces or deducts the overpayment. An overdue payment of a claim bears simple interest at the rate of 10 percent a year. Interest on an overdue payment of a claim for overpayment or for any uncontested portion of a claim for overpayment begins to accrue on the 36th day after the claim for overpayment has been received.

(e)  A provider shall pay or deny any claim for overpayment no later than 120 days after receiving the claim. Failure to do so creates an uncontestable obligation for the provider to pay the claim to the organization.

(6)  Any retroactive reductions of payments or demands for refund of previous overpayments which are due to retroactive review-of-coverage decisions or payment levels must be reconciled to specific claims unless the parties agree to other reconciliation methods and terms. Any retroactive demands by providers for payment due to underpayments or nonpayments for covered services must be reconciled to specific claims unless the parties agree to other reconciliation methods and terms. The look-back period may be specified by the terms of the contract.

(7)(a)  A provider claim for payment shall be considered received by the health maintenance organization, if the claim has been electronically transmitted to the health maintenance organization, when receipt is verified electronically or, if the claim is mailed to the address disclosed by the organization, on the date indicated on the return receipt. A provider must wait 45 days following receipt of a claim before submitting a duplicate claim.

(b)  A health maintenance organization claim for overpayment shall be considered received by a provider, if the claim has been electronically transmitted to the provider, when receipt is verified electronically or, if the claim is mailed to the address disclosed by the provider, on the date indicated on the return receipt. An organization must wait 45 days following the provider's receipt of a claim for overpayment before submitting a duplicate claim.

(c)  This section does not preclude the health maintenance organization and provider from agreeing to other methods of transmission and receipt of claims.

(8)  A provider, or the provider's designee, who bills electronically is entitled to electronic acknowledgment of the receipt of a claim within 72 hours.

(9)  A health maintenance organization may not retroactively deny a claim because of subscriber ineligibility more than 1 year after the date of payment of the clean claim.

(10)  A health maintenance organization shall pay a contracted primary care or admitting physician, pursuant to such physician's contract, for providing inpatient services in a contracted hospital to a subscriber, if such services are determined by the organization to be medically necessary and covered services under the organization's contract with the contract holder.

History.--s. 1, ch. 98-79; s. 5, ch. 99-393; s. 3, ch. 2000-252; s. 25, ch. 2000-256.