AGENCY:
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs), DoD.
ACTION:
Final rule.
SUMMARY:
This final rule implements provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000, which amended the statutory obligation of the third payers to replace the “reasonable cost” basis of the Third Party Collection Program with a “reasonable charge” basis, and also authorized methods to be used for the computation of reasonable charges. DoD is adopting the “reasonable charge” basis and generally will use CHAMPUS payment rates as the reasonable charges under the Program. This rule also implements Section 732 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002. This section specifically addresses the charging of fees for care to civilians who are not covered beneficiaries.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This rule is effective October 1, 2002.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lt Col Linnes Chester, Uniform Business Office, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs), TRICARE Management Activity, Resource Management, 5111 Leesburg Pike, Suite 810, Falls Church, VA 22041-3206, (703) 681-8910.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
In keeping with our intention to adopt a rate structure more consistent with the civilian health insurance industry practice, this rule adopts an itemized methodology for outpatient services.
Our analysis indicates that the transition from reasonable costs to reasonable charges will most likely not increase the amount of money collected for the services provided. We undertook an analysis comparing our current rate structure based on cost data with the charges based on the CHAMPUS Maximum Allowable Charge (CMAC) rates. An initial sample of 500 patient encounters was obtained from Military Treatment Facilities across all three Services from various regions. These patient encounters were priced with the national average CMAC pricing scale as well as the current all-inclusive methodology. The average of both pricing schemes found the totals to be within a ten-dollar range of each other. Thus, we anticipate billing at approximately the same aggregate level. The benefit of the change in methodology is that each bill will be much more appropriate for the actual services provided to the patient and will be itemized in the manner to which the health insurance industry is accustomed. Therefore, although it is not based on actual DoD costs (because our cost accounting systems do not have patient level specification), we believe adoption of the CMAC rates is more representative of actual costs specific to the services provided to a patient than is our current aggregated clinic visit rate.
The format of line-item charges will more closely resemble that currently used by facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
This approach is also consistent with the newly enacted 10 U.S.C. 1079b, which reaffirms the authority of the Secretary of Defense to “implement procedures under which a military medical treatment facility may charge civilians who are not covered beneficiaries (or their insurers) fees representing the costs, as determined by the Secretary, of trauma and other medical care provided to such civilians.” It is the Secretary's determination that the CHAMPUS payment rates best represent the costs of providing care to all patients in Military Treatment Facilities.
Public Comments
This rule is based on a proposed rule published in the Federal Register March 29, 2002 (67 FR 15140-15143). We received two public comments from health insurance associations. One commenter urged that we accept a third party payer's “usual, customary, and reasonable charges” or, if under a Medigap plan, Medicare charges as reasonable charges under the Third Party Collection Program. We have not made a change to the rule in relation to this comment. Our regulation (§ 220.8(i)) includes a process for an alternative determination of reasonable charges based on similar payments made by the third party payer. In the Medigap context, the CHAMPUS rates, which form the basis of our reasonable charges, are generally quite similar to Medicare payment rates. The other commenter recommended that DoD establish through the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services an arrangement for Medicare contractors to produce something comparable to an explanation of Medicare benefits (EOMB) that Medigap carriers could then use to facilitate the adjudication of claims from DoD for their Medigap beneficiaries. This is an interesting idea, but does not provide a basis for any change to the regulation. A third party payer's obligation under the statute is not dependent upon the presentation of something comparable to an EOMB and there would be significant issues to address concerning the feasibility of creating such a system. Nonetheless, DoD is open to exploring this idea further.
Changes to the Proposed Rule
We have made only minor changes to the proposed rule, such as to adjust the effective dates for implementing the reasonable charges billing rates under § 220.8 in order to assure effective implementation.
Rulemaking Procedures
We have reviewed this rule in accordance with the provisions of Executive Order of 12866, the Congressional Review of Agency Rulemaking Act (5 U.S.C. 801-808), and the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612). This rule has been designated as a significant rule and has been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget as required under the provisions of Executive Order 12866. It is not a significant regulatory action or a major rule, and it would not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. Nor does this rule affect matter addressed by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (Pub. L. 104-4) or Executive Order 13132 concerning Federalism. Also, this rule does not involve new information collection requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35). This rule will align DoD closer to civilian industry practices for healthcare billing and collections; it will have no significant economic or regulatory impact on any entity.
List of Subjects in 32 CFR Part 220
- Claims
- Healthcare
- Health insurance
For the reasons stated in the preamble, 32 CFR part 220 is amended as follows:
PART 220—COLLECTION FROM THIRD PARTY PAYERS OF REASONABLE CHARGES FOR HEALTHCARE SERVICES
1. The authority citation for 32 CFR part 220 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 10 U.S.C. 1095.
2. The title of 32 CFR part 220 is revised as shown above.
3. Section 220.1 is revised to read as follows:
(a) This part implements the provisions of 10 U.S.C. 1095, 1097b(b), and 1079b. In general, 10 U.S.C. 1095 establishes the statutory obligation of third party payers to reimburse the United States the reasonable charges of healthcare services provided by facilities of the Uniformed Services to covered beneficiaries who are also covered by a third party payer's plan. Section 1097b(b) elaborates on the methods for computation of reasonable charges. Section 1079b addresses charges for civilian patients who are not normally beneficiaries of the Military Health System. This part establishes the Department of Defense interpretations and requirements applicable to all healthcare services subject to 10 U.S.C. 1095, 1097b(b), and 1079b.
(b) This part applies to all facilities of the Uniformed Services; the Department of Transportation administers this part with respect to facilities to the Coast Guard, not the Department of Defense.
(c) This part applies to pathology services provided by the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. However, in lieu of the rules and procedures otherwise applicable under this part, the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) may establish special rules and procedures under the authority of 10 U.S.C. 176 and 177 in relation to cooperative enterprises between the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and the American Registry of Pathology.
4. Section 220.2 is amended by revising paragraphs (a) and (b) to read as follows:
(a) Basic rule. Pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 1095(a)(1), a third party payer has an obligation to pay the United States the reasonable charges for healthcare services provided in or through any facility of the Uniformed Services to a covered beneficiary who is also a beneficiary under the third party payer's plan. The obligation to pay is to the extent that the beneficiary would be eligible to receive reimbursement or indemnification from the third party payer if the beneficiary were to incur the costs on the beneficiary's own behalf.
(b) Application of cost shares. If the third party payer's plan includes a requirement for a deductible or copayment by the beneficiary of the plan, then the amount the United States may collect from the third party payer is the reasonable charge for the care provided less the appropriate deductible or copayment amount.
5. Section 220.4 is amended by revising paragraph (c)(2)(iii) to read as follows:
(c) * * *
(2) * * *
(iii) Such provisions are not permissible if they would not affect a third party payer's obligation under this part. For example, concurrent review of an inpatient hospitalization would generally not affect the third party payer's obligation because of the DRG-based, per-admission basis for calculating reasonable charges under § 220.8(a) (except in long stay outlier cases, noted in § 220.8(a)(4)).
6. Section 220.8 is amended by revising the section heading and paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (e), (f), (h), (i), and (j) and by removing paragraphs (k) and (l) as follows:
(a) In general. (1) Section 1095(f) and section 1097b(b) both address the issue of computation of rates. Between them, the effect is to authorize the calculation of all third party payer collections on the basis of reasonable charges and the computation of reasonable charges on the basis of per diem rates, all-inclusive per-visit rates, diagnosis related groups rates, rates used by the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) program to reimburse authorized providers, or any other method the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) considers appropriate and establishes in this part. Such rates, representative of costs, are also endorsed by section 1079(a).
(2) The general rule is that reasonable charges under this part are based on the rates used by CHAMPUS under 32 CFR 199.14 to reimburse authorized providers. There are some exceptions to this general rule, as outlined in this section.
(b) Inpatient hospital and professional services on or after April 1, 2003. Reasonable charges for inpatient hospital services provided on or after April 1, 2003, are based on the CHAMPUS Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) payment system rates under 32 CFR 199.14(a)(1). Certain adjustments are made to reflect differences between the CHAMPUS payment system and the Third Party Collection Program billing system. Among these are to include in the inpatient hospital service charges adjustments related to direct medical education and capital costs (which in the CHAMPUS system are handled as annual pass through payments). Additional adjustments are made for long stay outlier cases. Like the CHAMPUS system, inpatient professional services are not included in the inpatient hospital services charges, but are billed separately in accordance with paragraph (e) of this section. In lieu of the method described in this paragraph (b), the method in effect prior to April 1, 2003 (described in paragraph (c) of this section), may continue to be used for a period of time after April 1, 2003, if the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) determines that effective implementation requires a temporary deferral.
(c) Inpatient hospital and inpatient professional services before April 1, 2003. (1) In general. Prior to April 1, 2003, the computation of reasonable charges for inpatient hospital and professional services is reasonable costs based on diagnosis related groups (DRGs). Costs shall be based on the inpatient full reimbursement rate per hospital discharge, weighted to reflect the intensity of the principal diagnosis involved. The average charge per case shall be published annually as an inpatient standardized amount. A relative weight for each DRG shall be the same as the DRG weights published annually for hospital reimbursement rates under CHAMPUS pursuant to 32 CFR 199.14(a)(1). The method in effect prior to April 1, 2003 (as described in this paragraph (c)), may continue to be used for a period of time after April 1, 2003, if the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) determines that effective implementation requires a temporary deferral of the method described in paragraph (b) of this section.
(2) Standard amount. The standard amount is determined by dividing the total costs of all inpatient care in all military treatment facilities by the total number of discharges. This produces a single national standardized amount. The Department of Defense is authorized, but not required by this part, to calculate three standardized amounts, one for large urban, other urban/rural, and overseas area, utilizing the same distinctions in identifying the first two areas as is used for CHAMPUS under 32 CFR 199.14(a)(1). Using this applicable standardized amount, the Department of Defense may make adjustments for area wage rates and indirect medical education costs (as identified in paragraph (c)(4) of this section), producing for each inpatient facility of the Uniformed Services a facility-specific “adjusted standardized amount” (ASA).
(3) DRG relative weights. Costs for each DRG will be determined by multiplying the standardized amount per discharge by the DRG relative weight. For this purpose, the DRG relative weights used for CHAMPUS pursuant to 32 CFR 199.14(a)(1) shall be used.
(4) Adjustments for outliers, area wages, and indirect medical education. The Department of Defense may, but is not required by this part, to adjust charge determinations in particular cases for length-of-stay outliers (long stay and short stay), cost outliers, area wage rates, and indirect medical education. If any such adjustments are used, the method shall be comparable to that used for CHAMPUS hospital reimbursements pursuant to 32 CFR 199.14(a)(1)(iii)(E), and the calculation of the standardized amount under paragraph (a)(2) of this section will reflect that such adjustments will be used.
(5) Identification of professional and hospital charges. For purposes of billing third party payers other than automobile liability and no-fault insurance carriers, inpatient billings are subdivided into two categories:
(i) Hospital charges (which refers to routine service charges associated with the hospital stay and ancillary charges).
(ii) Professional charges (which refers to professional services provided by physicians and certain other providers).
(e) Reasonable charges for professional services. The CHAMPUS Maximum Allowable Charge rate table, established under 32 CFR 199.14(h), is used for determining the appropriate charge for professional services in an itemized format, based on Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) methodology. This applies to outpatient professional charges only prior to implementation of the method described in paragraph (b) of this section, and to all professional charges, both inpatient and outpatient, thereafter.
(f) Miscellaneous Healthcare services. Some special services are provided by or through facilities of the Uniformed Services for which reasonable charges are computed based on reasonable costs. Those services are the following:
(1) The charge for ambulance services is based on the full costs of operating the ambulance service.
(2) With respect to inpatient hospital charges in the Burn Center at Brooke Army Medical Center, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs may establish an adjustment to the rate otherwise applicable under the DRG payment methodology under this section to reflect unique attributes of the Burn Center.
(3) Charges for dental services (including oral diagnosis and prevention, periodontics, prosthodontics (fixed and removable), implantology, oral surgery, orthodontics, pediatric dentistry and endodontics) will be based on a full cost of the dental services.
(4) With respect to service provided prior to January 1, 2003, reasonable charges for anesthesia services will be based on an average DoD cost of service in all Military Treatment Facilities. With respect to services provided on or after January 1, 2003, reasonable charges for anesthesia services will be based on an average cost per minute of service in all Military Treatment Facilities.
(5) The charge for immunizations, allergin extracts, allergic condition tests, and the administration of certain medications when these services are provided in a separate immunizations or shot clinic, are based on CHAMPUS prevailing rates in cases in which such rates are available, and in cases in which such rates are not available, on the average full cost of these services, exclusive of any costs considered for purposes of any outpatient visit. A separate charge shall be made for each immunization, injection or medication administered.
(6) The charges for pharmacy, durable medical equipment and supplies are based on CHAMPUS prevailing rates in cases in which such rates are available, in cases in which such rates are not available, on the average full cost of these items, exclusive of any costs considered for purposes of any outpatient visit. A separate charge shall be made for each item provided.
(7) Charges for aero-medical evacuation will be based on the full cost of the aero-medical evacuation services.
(h) Special rule for TRICARE Resource Sharing Agreements. Services provided in facilities of the Uniformed Services in whole or in part through personnel or other resources supplied under a TRICARE Resource Sharing Agreement under 32 CFR 199.17(h) are considered for purposes of this part as services provided by the facility of the Uniformed Services. Thus, third party payers will receive a claim for such services in the same manner and for the same charges as any similar services provided by a facility of the Uniformed Services.
(i) Alternative determination of reasonable charges. Any third party payer that can satisfactorily demonstrate a prevailing rate of payment in the same geographic area for the same or similar aggregate groups of services that is less than the charges prescribed under this section may, with the agreement of the facility of the Uniformed Services (or other authorized representatives of the United States), limit payments under 10 U.S.C. 1095 to that prevailing rate for those services. The determination of the third party payer's prevailing rate shall be based on a review of valid contractual arrangements with other facilities or providers constituting a majority of the services for which payment is made under the third party payer's plan. This paragraph does not apply to cases covered by § 220.11.
(j) Exception authority for extraordinary circumstances. The Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) may authorize exceptions to this section, not inconsistent with law, based on extraordinary circumstances.
7. Section 220.10 is amended by revising paragraph (c)(1) introductory text to read as follows:
(c) Charges for Healthcare services other than inpatient deductible amount. (1) The Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) may establish charge amounts for Medicare supplemental plans to collect reasonable charges for inpatient and outpatient copayments and other services covered by the Medicare supplemental plan. Any such schedule of charge amounts shall:
8. Section 220.12 is amended by revising paragraph (a)(1) to read as follows:
(a) Statutory requirement. (1) Pursuant to the general duty of third party payers to pay under 10 U.S.C. 1095(a)(1) and the definitions of 10 U.S.C. 1095(h), a plan with a preferred provider organization (PPO) provision or option generally has an obligation to pay the United States the reasonable charges for healthcare services provided through any facility of the Uniformed Services to a Uniformed Services beneficiary who is also a beneficiary under the plan.
9. Section 220.13 is amended by revising paragraph (a) to read as follows:
(a) Basic rule. Pursuant to the general duty of third party payers under 10 U.S.C. 1095(a)(1) and the definitions of 10 U.S.C. 1095(h), a workers' compensation program or plan generally has an obligation to pay the United States the reasonable charges for healthcare services provided in or through any facility of the Uniformed Services to a Uniformed Services beneficiary who is also a beneficiary under a workers' compensation program due to an employment related injury, illness, or disease. Except to the extent modified or supplemented by this section, all provisions of this part are applicable to any workers' compensation program or plan in the same manner as they are applicable to any other third party payer.
10. Section 220.14 is amended by revising the definitions of “covered beneficiaries” and “third party payer” to read as follows:
Covered beneficiaries. Covered beneficiaries are all healthcare beneficiaries under chapter 55 of title 10, United States Code, except members of the Uniformed Services on active duty (as specified in 10 U.S.C. 1074(a)). However, for purposes of § 220.11 of this part, such members of the Uniformed Services are included as covered beneficiaries.
Third party payer. A third party payer is any entity that provides an insurance, medical service, or health plan by contract or agreement. It includes but is not limited to:
(1) State and local governments that provide such plans other than Medicaid.
(2) Insurance underwriters or carriers.
(3) Private employers or employer groups offering self-insured or partially self-insured medical service or health plans.
(4) Automobile liability insurance underwriter or carrier.
(5) No fault insurance underwriter or carrier.
(6) Workers' compensation program or plan sponsor, underwriter, carrier, or self-insurer.
(7) Any other plan or program that is designed to provide compensation or coverage for expenses incurred by a beneficiary for healthcare services or products.
Dated: August 30, 2002.
Patricia L. Toppings,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. 02-23244 Filed 9-11-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5001-08-M