Source: http://www.readbag.com/acponline-about-acp-chapters-ca-bbtoolkit
Timestamp: 2019-06-26 01:43:42
Document Index: 796705049

Matched Legal Cases: ['§10123', '§1395', '§489', '§1317', '§1395', '§489', '§1317', '§1317', '§1317', '§1395', '§489', '§1387', '§1390', '§17200', '§1371', '§1367', '§1371', '§1300', '§1300', '§1526', '§1300', '§1300', '§1371', '§1395']

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(NOTE: Physicians are urged to check the CMA website regularly to see if this document has been updated and to learn of new developments.)
Despite the vigorous efforts of organized medicine, the Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) regulation that seeks to prohibit balance billing of Knox-Keene enrollees by providers for out-of-network emergency services was approved by the Office of Administrative Law on September 15, 2008. The regulation will become effective on October 15, 2008. The California Medical Association (CMA), California Orthopaedic Association (COA), California Society of Anesthesiologists (CSA), California Radiologic Society (CRS), California Chapter, American College of Emergency Physicians (Cal/ACEP), and California Hospital Association (CHA) filed a lawsuit on September 26, 2008 and are working together to have this regulation enjoined and declared invalid by the court. We expect that the regulation will be in effect for a few weeks before the court is able to make its ruling. Accordingly, it is essential that physicians understand the scope of the regulation and not balance bill Knox-Keene enrollees for out-of-network emergency services. Physicians also can take a number of steps to position themselves and to help organized medicine demonstrate why the regulation is against sound public policy. Nonetheless, CMA cannot provide physicians with individual legal advice and urges physicians with specific questions to seek counsel from their personal attorney.
1. Does the regulation prohibit &quot;balance billing&quot;? Technically, it does not; but it does define balance billing as an unfair billing pattern:
[U]nfair billing pattern includes the practice, by a provider of emergency services, including but not limited to hospitals and hospital-based physicians such as radiologists, pathologists, anesthesiologists, and on-call specialists, of billing an enrollee of a health care service plan for amounts owed to the provider by the health care service plan or its capitated provider for the provision of emergency services.
The DMHC believes that this regulation will enable it to take enforcement action against physicians who engage in this practice. Further, although CMA adamantly believes that this definition is purely regulatory and therefore cannot form the basis of a private lawsuit, CMA is concerned that trial attorneys will attempt to use this regulation to sue physicians. 2. Is a single or occasional balance bill an &quot;unfair billing pattern&quot; or does there need to be a demonstrable pattern as in the case with respect to HMOs? Unlike the portions of the AB 1455 regulations defining an unfair payment pattern as requiring a threshold number of violations (either a violation on three of more occasions or in more than
5% of claims), the new regulation does not provide any information as to how many violations constitute a pattern. Nonetheless, the regulation does require that there be a pattern, which California law recognizes in numerous contexts can be just two or more acts.
Affected Enrollees
3. Does the regulation apply to all patients with commercial insurance? No. The regulation does not apply to insurance products including PPOs regulated by the Department of Insurance (DOI). It only applies to patients who are enrollees in Knox-Keene plans, that is, commercial HMOs, and many Blue Cross and Blue Shield PPOs. The regulation should not apply to ERISA beneficiaries whose plan is administered by a KnoxKeene plan. However, because of the difficulties in distinguishing between ERISA and nonERISA plans, and because of the possibility of both government and private attempts of enforcement in this area, CMA urges physicians to exercise extreme caution in this area. Indeed, if it is not clear from the insurance card or EOB that the patient is an ERISA patient, the only practical way for a physician to be sure of the patient's status is to contact the plan's customer service department. 4. How can I tell if my Blue Cross or Blue Shield patient is a Knox-Keene enrollee? Both of these plans have different PPO products, some of which are regulated by the DOI, though most of which are regulated by the DMHC. The law requires that where the product is regulated by the Department of Insurance, the payor's EOB must say so. (Insurance Code §§10123.13 and 10123.147.) Further, for DOI regulated insurers, usually the patient's identification card will state that he/she is a member of a Life and Health Insurance Company. Knox-Keene plans do not use the word insurance. If you are in doubt, you should contact the plan for verification.
5. Are all providers included within this definition or are there any exceptions? The regulation expressly exempts medical transportation providers. 6. As a non-contracting physician, am I now prohibited from ever balance billing my patients? No. The regulation applies only to emergency services. Non-contracted physicians may still bill patients for the remainder of their fee in non-emergency cases. The definition of emergency medical condition under California and federal laws is, for the most part, the same: a medical condition manifested by acute symptoms of sufficient severity (including severe pain, psychiatric disturbance and/or symptoms of substance abuse), such that the absence of immediate medical attention could reasonably be expected to result in placing the patient's health in serious jeopardy, serious impairment to bodily functions, or serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part. (42 U.S.C. §1395dd(e)(1)(A); 42 C.F.R. §489.24(b); Health &amp; Safety Code §1317(b).) In the case of a pregnant woman who is having contractions, determining whether an emergency medical condition exists means determining (a) whether there is inadequate time to effect a safe transfer
to another hospital before delivery, or (b) whether transfer may pose a threat to the health or safety of the woman or unborn child. (42 U.S.C. §1395dd(e)(1)(B); 42 C.F.R. §489.24(b); Health &amp; Safety Code §1317(c).) 7. Does the regulation apply if the patient is stabilized, and thus no longer in an emergency condition? No. Once a patient is stabilized, services provided to that patient no longer are emergency services for the purposes of the regulation. Under California law, a patient is stabilized when in the opinion of the treating provider, the patient's medical condition is such that, within reasonable medical probability, no material deterioration of the patient's condition is likely to result from, or occur during, a transfer.... (Health &amp; Safety Code §1317.1(j).) The treatment obligation includes providing specialty consultation as medically appropriate by telephone and, when determined to be medically necessary jointly by the emergency and specialty physicians, through personal examination and treatment by the specialist. (Health &amp; Safety Code §§1317.1(i), 1317.2(a).) Similarly, under federal law, to stabilize means to provide sufficient treatment, such that no material deterioration of the patient's condition is likely to result from or occur during the patient's transfer. With respect to a pregnant woman, to stabilize means to deliver, including the placenta. (42 U.S.C. §1395dd(e)(3)(A); 42 C.F.R. §489.24(b), definition of stabilized.) The law requires a flexible standard of reasonableness, however, depending on the circumstances. For more information on the emergency transfer laws, see CMA ON-CALL #1215, Emergency Transfer Laws.
8. When does the regulation become effective? It becomes effective on October 15, 2008. Therefore, beginning October 15, 2008 until (and unless) a court invalidates the regulation, non-contracting physicians must not balance bill their Knox-Keene enrollees for emergency services. 9. Do physicians need to rebate payments made by patients for balance bills that were sent to patients prior to October 15? CMA does not believe so, and the DMHC has agreed with us, at least informally. The regulation at issue technically prevents billing enrollees, not cashing checks for bills that had been sent prior to the regulation's effective date. Further, a new law will not be applied retroactively unless it is very clear from extrinsic sources that a retroactive application was intended. See Bates v. Franchise Tax Board (2004) 124 Cal.App.4th 367. No such intent was ever expressed and thus the prohibition against billing in CMA's view does not apply until October 15, 2008. Nor does the term billing encompass payments received from bills sent prior to October 15, 2008. While the law does not define billing, the common usage of the term invoice does not include receiving payment. See, for example, Black's Legal Dictionary (2004, 8th Ed.), defining invoice as an itemized list of goods or services furnished by a seller to a buyer, usu.
specifying the price and terms of sale. Under these circumstances, CMA does not believe that physicians are obligated to return payments made for bills sent out prior to October 15, 2008. 10. What about if I provided the service prior to October 15, 2008, and sent a bill prior to that time but received no payment. Am I prohibited from sending out a second bill? It is unclear. Unfortunately, the regulation does not specify if its effective date relates to the bill itself or bills for dates of service on or after October 15, 2008. CMA is currently seeking clarification with the DMHC on this issue.
11. What type of enforcement is there for balance billing a Knox-Keene enrollee? The regulations do not set forth a specific fine or penalty for engaging in a practice of balance billing. While the CMA believes that the DMHC lacks the authority to regulate physicians, the Knox-Keene Act contains a number of provisions that the DMHC can seek to use against violators. For example, Health &amp; Safety Code §1387 allows the DMHC to go to court to fine any person who violates any regulation adopted by the DMHC by an amount not to exceed $2,500 for each violation. Willful violations of the law carry fines up to $10,000 and/or imprisonment. (Health &amp; Safety Code §1390.) While CMA does not believe the DMHC will attempt to bring criminal actions against physicians, physicians should understand the DMHC does have broad enforcement powers. Further, as mentioned above, although we believe such lawsuits are improper, CMA is concerned that trial attorneys will attempt to bring lawsuits under the Unfair Practices Act, Business &amp; Professions Code §§17200 et seq.
12. What are the theories of the lawsuit? We believe the regulation is invalid for a number of reasons. First, the regulation is not within the scope of authority conferred on the DMHC by the Legislature. The Legislature has not given the DMHC jurisdiction over physicians or the power to prohibit balance billing as an unfair billing practice. Rather, the Legislature directed the DMHC to report back to the Legislature and the Governor with recommendations regarding the definition of unfair billing practice. (Health &amp; Safety Code §1371.39.) Since that time, the DMHC has not made such a report to the Legislature and the Legislature has repeatedly considered legislation that has specifically rejected the DMHC's approach to the prohibition as set forth in the regulation. The regulation is also invalid because it is inconsistent and in conflict with the balance billing statutes adopted by the Legislature. The regulation is also inconsistent with the statutes the DMHC purports to further implement, interpret, and/or make specific in that contrary to the requirement that contracts with providers be fair, reasonable, and consistent with the objectives of this chapter, Health &amp; Safety Code, §1367(h)(1), HMOs will no longer need to enter into good faith contract negotiations with providers. We believe the regulation is also invalid because it was not adopted in compliance with other provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act.
A copy of the complaint can be found on CMA's website at www.cmanet.org. 13. When is the court expected to rule on the legality of this regulation? We expect the court to rule on our motion seeking to enjoin and declare invalid the regulation soon after it holds a hearing on the matter. The hearing will be held on November 21, 2008 in a Sacramento Superior Court.
STEPS PHYSICIANS CAN TAKE--BILLING
14. Does this mean I cannot balance bill my Knox-Keene patients for emergency services if the HMO underpays me? Yes, as discussed above, at least from October 15, 2008 until we successfully get the regulation struck down by the court. Hopefully, we will receive a ruling before this significantly impacts your practice. 15. So should I inform my billing company of this new restriction? Yes. To avoid being charged with violating this regulation, make sure that all entities that perform billing/collection functions for you know about the regulation. 16. As a non-contracting physician, must I discount my charge when billing the plan? No. Health &amp; Safety Code §1371.4(b) requires that plans make payment for your services, assuming you do not already have a contract with the plan for emergency services, in which case payments will likely already be discounted. Common law obligates the plan to pay you a reasonable amount. See Bell v. Blue Cross, supra. See also Medina v. Van Camp Sea Food Company, Inc. (1946) 75 Cal.App.2d 551 (in the absence of a contract, fishing boat owner required to pay reasonable value of services of a fish transporter). 17. What is a &quot;reasonable&quot; rate? DMHC regulations incorporate court cases setting forth the factors in defining what constitutes a reasonable fee and require the payment of the reasonable and customary value for the health care services rendered based upon the statistically credible information that is updated at least annually and takes into consideration: 1. The providers training, qualification, and length of time in practice; 2. The nature of the services provided; 3. The fees usually charged by the provider; 4. Prevailing provider rates in the general geographic area in which the services were rendered; 5. Other aspects of the economics of the medical provider's practice that are relevant; and 6. Any unusual circumstances in the case.
(28 C.C.R. §1300.71(a)(3)(B).) See also Gould v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (1992) 4 Cal.App.4th 1059, 6 Cal.Rptr.2d 228. 18. Should I hold on to my emergency claims until this matter is resolved? That certainly is an option. As a non-contracting physician, you have up to 180 days from the date of service to submit a claim to a Knox-Keene plan. (28 C.C.R. §1300.71(b).) If you choose to submit bills to the plan during this period, and if the payment is inadequate, you still have up to 365 days after the deadline for payors to contest or deny claims (45 days for HMOs, 30 days for PPOs) to file a dispute with the plan. For more information on filing a dispute with a plan, see CMA ON-CALL #1051, Physician Complaints about Managed Care Plans. 19. If I submit the claim to the plan, and I am underpaid, should I use the plan's internal dispute resolution mechanism? Again, that decision is up to you. Physicians are reporting varying degrees of success with respect to a plan's internal process. Certainly it is preferable to get the full payment from the plan if you can. Further, if everyone went through the plan's process as opposed to seeking payment from patients, plans hopefully would get a better understanding of the degree to which they underpay you, and improve their payment practices accordingly. 20. How can I show that my fee is reasonable? As part of the dispute process, physicians may wish to send a letter to the plan specifying why they believe their reasonable fee was not paid properly. The DMHC has opined that payors must consider physician charges on an individualized basis to the extent the physician submits information on the regulatory factors set forth above as part of the claim submission or dispute resolution process. Attached is a sample letter that can be helpful when demonstrating those factors. In addition, the AMA has developed the educational resource Fee schedule analysis: Using your complete practice cost as a guide to help physicians and their practice staff recognize the need to establish their practice fee schedule based on what it actually costs to provide a service rather than basing their fee schedule on what a third-party payor or other entity decides is fair payment. This defensible fee schedule toolkit can be downloaded by AMA members off the AMA's website at www.ama-assn.org. Further, as is discussed below, the underpayment should be immediately reported to the DMHC and CMA. For more information, see CMA ON-CALL document #1051, Physician Complaints About Managed Care Plans. 21. Will payment from the plan be considered payment in full, even if the court invalidates the regulation? It could be, particularly if the plan writes payment in full or other words of similar meaning on the check. Acceptance of that check, however, does not mean that the payor's liability on the claim is satisfied if the physician (and CMA believes also the physician's agent) protests the check by striking out or otherwise deleting that notation before it is cashed. (Civil Code §1526.) (CMA recognizes that this protection may not apply when funds are transferred electronically.)
22. Can I bill for copays, deductibles, and co-insurance? If so, when? Yes, the regulation expressly authorizes you to do this. The decision as to when to send such bills is again up to you. Normally, you would not know the deductible amount until after you receive the EOB, so it could make sense to wait for its receipt. Also, if you plan to dispute the paid amount with the plan, some plans offer policies requiring a co-insurance that equals a certain percentage of the allowed amount. Therefore, you would not even know the allowed amount until after you have exhausted the plan's internal appeals process. Hopefully, the court will rule in this case before you ever get an EOB for claims submitted after October 15, 2008. 23. So should I wait to bill the patient for copayments until after we receive the court ruling? Probably. Assuming the court agrees that physicians may bill patients to secure the reasonable value of their services, it would make sense to wait before you bill your patients. 24. I heard that the DMHC set up an Independent Dispute Resolution Process to help with these disputes. Is that true? Yes. The DMHC established an Independent Dispute Resolution Process (IDRP) in an attempt to afford non-contracted providers of EMTALA-required emergency hospital and physician services a fast, fair and cost effective way to resolve claim payment disputes with health care service plans and their capitated provider groups (collectively referred to as payors). The IDRP is voluntary for both non-contracted providers and payors. In order to submit a claim dispute through the IDRP, the physician must agree that, except for applicable co-payments and deductibles, it will not invoice, balance bill or otherwise seek to collect from the enrollee any payment for the subject services. In order for the payor to participate, it must agree to pay provider the amount found due, if any, by the IDRP, within fifteen (15) days of receiving notice from the DMHC of the IDRP determination. Participation in the IDRP process does not change a payors' obligation to process and pay the claim within the statutory time period. The physician will be required to submit an IDRP complaint form and a copy of the disputed claim(s) and required supporting documentation. The payor will also be required to provide supporting documentation. A physician may submit an individual claim or multiple claims (up to 50 claims) that are substantially similar in a single filing. For physicians who utilize the payor's internal dispute mechanism prior to submitting a dispute through the IDRP, an IDRP decision should be rendered within sixty (60) days of receipt of the provider's dispute form and all required/necessary supporting documentation. If the physician chooses not to first utilize the payor's internal dispute resolution mechanism, the IDRP process will be more costly and may take up to 120 days to render a determination. Voluntary participation in IDRP does not in and of itself waive any rights or remedies a provider may have against the payor, and that participation in IDRP may not toll any statute of limitations applicable to the exercise of such rights and remedies. Payments determined under the IDRP must be paid within fifteen (15) days of issuance of the decision. More information on this process, including applicable fees, is available on the DMHC website at www.dmhc.ca.gov/providers/clm/clm_idrp.asp.
25. Can I still go to court to enforce my right to a reasonable fee? Yes. The DMHC made it clear that the promulgation of the regulation concerning reimbursement of claims of non-contracting physicians is not a substitute for traditional forums for contract dispute resolution. Thus, if a physician disputes the payor's calculation of a fair and reasonable value for services rendered, the provider is free to seek resolution of that dispute in a court of law or through any other available civil remedy. This interpretation has been confirmed by the courts. For information on small claims actions, see CMA ON-CALL #1055, Small Claims Action to Recover Payment. But again, physicians may wish to wait for the court's ruling before pursuing this remedy. 26. What if my claim was denied because the service was not covered? Can I bill my patient for this service? Yes. Physicians may bill their patients for non-covered services. Non-contracting physicians also may dispute the denial with the plan, with or without notifying the patient of the dispute. (28 C.C.R. §1300.71.38.) Physicians can also encourage patients to file disputes for non-covered services with their plan.
STEPS PHYSICIANS CAN TAKE--ADVOCACY
Monitor Your Rate
27. Will the regulation further reduce the rates plans currently pay me? It shouldn't, but it could now that the plans believe they make the final payment determination. Physicians are urged to compare their non-contracted rates received prior to and post October 15, 2008, and report to CMA any significant changes. Further, it should be noted that the payment should never be below the DMHC minimum payment methodology. According to the DMHC's September 2, 2005 Compliance Statement for the payment of non-contracted claims under the AB 1455 regulations, a reimbursement methodology may constitute an unfair payment pattern where it does not include: A payment methodology based on the 50th percentile or higher of a statistically credible aggregated billed charge database, updated (at least) annually, for the relevant geographic area; and, A payment methodology based on an amount at least 10%-20% above the payor's average contracts rates for similar services, and, A payment methodology based on an amount above the current Medicare fee schedule for similar services (unless the payor demonstrated that the payor's average contract rates for similar services is 10%-20% less than the current Medicare fee schedule); and Adequate procedures to timely and fully consider the remaining Gould criteria, as set forth in Rule 1300.71(a)(3)(B), upon the provider's submission of relevant supporting documentation as part of either the original claim submission or the payor's appeal
process/dispute resolution mechanism. (For more information on the Gould criteria, see CMA ON-CALL #0121, Authorization and Payment for Emergency Services.)
Report Unfair Payments to the DMHC
28. What if the plan underpays me? In addition to steps outlined in this toolkit, physicians are encouraged to report underpayments to the DMHC. For more information, see CMA ON-CALL #1051, Physician Complaints about Managed Care Plans.
Send Letters to the Employer Community
29. What can or should I do in the meantime to help advocate for fair contracting and payments? Given that the current administration is supporting this regulation, organized medicine, as well as individual physicians, need to direct their advocacy towards the private sector. We need to explain that the reason balance billing occurs is because HMOs fail to offer physicians fair and reasonable contracts, and therefore fail to provide enrollees access to care through adequate networks, as the law requires. To that end, we believe that the employer community needs to be even more educated about what is happening in the marketplace and why the coverage they are buying for their employees does not provide what they are paying for--adequate networks. We already have directed correspondence to the representative organizations for employers, the Chamber of Commerce, setting forth our concerns. However, to be effective, individual physician participation is essential. Accordingly, we urge physicians to protest the situation to their patients' employers. Physicians are also urged to contact the state and local chambers of commerce, either directly or as a copy to the letter to the patient's employer. While employers whose patients have received emergency services certainly should be contacted, even employers of patients in your current practice should be aware of the intolerable situation physicians face in this current environment. In your letters, it is important not to disclose any information concerning the identities or medical conditions of your patients. A sample letter is included in this toolkit. Contact information for your local chamber of commerce, as well as a copy of CMA's letter to the state Chamber of Commerce, is located on the CMA website. 30. What are the next steps that are being taken? Irrespective of what the court rules, we need even more facts to convince policymakers of why a ban on balance billing, as opposed to the enforcement of the Knox-Keene Act, is against public policy.
31. How else can I help?
We can help you only if you help us. As mentioned above, monitor your payments to make sure they do not go down even further. In addition, please gather as much information as you can concerning the following: Unsuccessful efforts to reach a fair and reasonable contract with an HMO; Underpayment by plans for emergency services with an explanation as to why that payment was not reasonable (i.e., the skill needed, complexity of the case, etc.); Inability of patients in your practice to find care from a network physician/Inability for you to make appropriate referrals; Reports of physicians declining on-call coverage; and Difficulties regarding on-call coverage in the emergency department. Please direct any such information (or anything else you think would be helpful) to: Long Do California Medical Association 1201 J Street, Suite 200 Sacramento, CA 95814 Fax: (916) 551-2027
NON-CONTRACTING PHYSICIAN ­ SAMPLE DEMAND LETTER FOR FULL PAYMENT FOR EMERGENCY SERVICES
Re: Patient Name: Insurance Carrier / Health Plan / IPA Insurance ID Number: Date of Service: Billed Amount: Payment Received: Balance Due: To Whom It May Concern: I have received your partial payment for the emergent medical care I provided to the above referenced patient at (name of hospital/facility) in (city and state) on (date). Your decision to pay less than my reasonable, usual and customary fee constitutes an unfair payment practice as identified in regulations implementing A.B. 1455 (Ch. 827, Stats. 2000), legislation that was enacted to protect both physicians and patients from this type of abuse by managed care plans. Moreover, this law was intended to ensure to the public continued access to highly skilled healthcare professionals. This letter is to appeal the arbitrary and capricious nature of your decision to underpay me for my services. According to the unfair payment regulations, as a non-contracting physician you are obligated to pay me: the reasonable and customary value for the health care services rendered based upon statistically credible information that is updated at least annually and takes into consideration: (1) the provider's training, qualifications, and length of time in practice; (ii) the nature of the services provided; (iii) the fees usually charged by the provider; (iv) prevailing provider rates charged in the general geographic area in which the services were rendered; (v) other aspects of the economics of the medical provider's practice that are relevant; and (vi) any unusual circumstances in the case . . . (28 C.C.R. §1300.71(a)(3)(B).) I used the following criteria as the basis for establishing the monetary value of my medical expertise and the high quality of medical care that I provided: (Draft a model letter containing standardized language where possible, with alternative paragraphs when situations are different ­ e.g., extremely complex case versus routine case.) I am Board certified in (name of specialty) with (number) years experience in this field. (Add any additional qualifications (additional training or certification, clinical leadership roles, etc., that may be noteworthy).
For on call physicians, discuss your on call status and the issue that the patients you are treating in this status are not your own patients ­ increasing the burden on you due to lack of patient background, relationship, etc. You may also want to discuss the disruption that occurs with your practice (missed appointments, rescheduling, disruption of personal time, extension of normal working hours, unusual travel requirements for rural physicians or during rush hours, etc. In general, articulate relevant issues that affect your charges, particularly if your fees are higher than they would be for an office visit). Confirm whether fees for these services are your usual and customary charges. If these fees have not been updated for an extended period, it may be useful to add the length of time these fees have been in effect (e.g., charging these fees for 5 years). To establish the comparison to prevailing rates in your area you may wish to obtain a copy of published source of fees, such as Medicode. If you find your fees compare reasonably, you can state that your fees are consistent with those of other physicians in the geographic area based on data published by (name of publication used for comparison such as Medicode). If your charges differ from the prevailing rates in your area, discuss the basis of your charges and their relation to any unique cost of providing medical care in your specialty, geographic area, etc. Include any information on practices costs and other considerations that you have used to establish your fees and that you believe are relevant. When relevant, note the medical care provided was extraordinary or more complex than usual or any other factor that may justify your fee not addressed above. I believe I have demonstrated the reasonableness of my fees. Under Health &amp; Safety Code §1371.4 (Health Plan / IPA) is responsible for the payment of all emergency services. Because the emergent nature of these services is not in dispute, I must insist on payment of the balance due without further delay, with interest. [Further, pursuant to Health &amp; Safety Code §1395.6(e)-(f), to the extent you are claiming entitlement to a contracted discount, you must demonstrate that you are entitled to pay this discounted rate within thirty (30) business days of receipt of this written request; your failure to do so renders you liable for my usual, reasonable and customary rate.] Please do not hesitate to contact (name of contact) if you have any questions at (phone number). Sincerely,
___________________________________ [Name of Physician] cc: Department of Managed Health Care California Medical Association Health Plan (if contesting IPA payment)
SAMPLE LETTER FOR PHYSICIANS TO SEND TO EMPLOYER COMMUNITY
Note: If the physician is unable to identify the patient's employer, physicians are urged to send this letter to the state and applicable local chambers of commerce. [See bracketed language for revisions.] Do not disclose patient-specific information
Re: Inadequate Networks and Payment for Emergency Services Dear _____: I am writing to you to urge you to investigate an important matter concerning the insurance you [your members] purchased for your [their] employees. As you may be aware, as a [Name of Specialty] practicing in this community, I have had the privilege of providing medical services to a number of your [members'] employees. To that end, I commend you [the employer community] for providing your [delete your] employees with insurance so that they can maintain their health and obtain medical services if necessary. Unfortunately, however, I have serious reservations that the insurance you [your members] have purchased for them [their employees] does not provide the benefits you [they] expected. With today's efforts to contain health costs, it is essential that employees be able to access care through a network of contracted physicians so that (a) employees can obtain care early enough, before their medical conditions worsen, and (b) employees do not incur the added financial responsibility for obtaining out-of-network care. Unfortunately, insurers fail to maintain adequate networks because they attempt to force physicians, such as myself, into contracts that are not clinically or financially appropriate for the type of care employees need. Despite our deep commitment to our patients, we simply cannot provide appropriate medical care under the restraints these contracts impose. Independent studies confirm that patients are having tremendous difficulties getting seen by an appropriate physician due to inadequate networks. Despite laws requiring plans to contract with an adequate number of physicians, the most recent Consumers Report ranking of access to care in some of California's HMOs shows a very grim picture:
Consumer Reports Chart: Ratings for California For-Profit Plans ­ HMOs
Plan Name Access to Physicians PacifiCare of California Health Net of California Blue Shield of California Access + HMO Blue Cross of California HMO When an HMO's network is inadequate, as is plainly the case with the HMOs in this state, everyone suffers. Insured patients unable to obtain care through a physician's office are increasingly seeing their medical conditions worsen as they are forced to delay or even forego care altogether, or visit a more expensive emergency department, further straining such departments, increasing waiting times and health care costs for us all.1 You may be aware of the debate that has plagued the Legislature for the last few years concerning balance billing, that is, where non-contracting physicians have no choice but to bill patients for the remainder of their reasonable fee when the HMO underpays them for emergency services. This practice is the unfortunate by-product of inadequate networks caused by lack of fair contracting. Put another way, if the contracts are fair, physicians would contract, networks would be adequate, and balance billing would rarely occur. Unfortunately, rather than enforce the laws designed to promote access so that your members get value in return for their premium dollars, the Department of Managed Health Care has adopted a regulation that attempts to regulate physicians directly by defining balance billing as an unfair billing pattern. Apart from being manifestly unfair to physicians, this action does nothing to restore value for the premiums your members have paid to HMOs. For example, the regulation does not: · · ensure that employees have access to the right care at the right time through network physicians; reduce the incidence of employees going to more costly emergency departments for non-emergent care, or emergent care that could have been treated earlier if the network was adequate; require let alone encourage, fair and reasonable contracting that we all expect.
See Ann S. O'Malley, Rising Pressure: Hospital Emergency Departments as Barometers of the Health Care System, Center for Studying Health System Change, Issue Brief No. 101, November 18, 2005. See also, Cunningham, Peter J. and Felland, Laurie E., Falling Behind: American's Access to Medical Care Deteriorates, 2003-2007, Tracking Report No. 19, Center for Studying Health System Change (June 2008), www.hschange.com/CONTENT/993/. See also, &quot;Ambulatory Medical Care Utilization Reports, No. 8, August 6, 2008, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
HMOs will no doubt boast this regulation as a victory to take patients out of the middle of payment disputes. The only one who wins here are the HMOs themselves. Everyone else loses. With their state-sanctioned ability to continue to underpay physicians, HMOs no longer need to ensure they have an adequate network of providers so that patients can access care and therefore HMOs have even less need to provide the very value you [your members] expect when purchasing health insurance. In sum, we will all continue to lose if the status quo remains. With inadequate networks, little, if any, value is being returned for your [members'] hard-earned premiums. Employees will continue to have inadequate access to care, potentially jeopardizing their health, but certainly increasing health care costs for everyone. Under these circumstances, we urge that when you [your members] purchase insurance, [they] ensure that the insurer is providing you [them] with an adequate network. If it does not provide the appropriate assurances, [we urge you to encourage your members to] express your [their] concerns to all appropriate parties so that whatever coverage you [they] purchase, in fact, has the benefits you [they] expect. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. Sincerely,
[_______________________, M.D.] cc: California Chamber of Commerce 1215 K Street, Suite 1400 Sacramento, CA 95814 Local Chamber of Commerce [See link at www.calchamber.com/BusinessResources/Pages/CountyListing.aspx for information listing chambers by county]