900 Ky. Admin. Regs. 7:030

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 5, November 1, 2024

Section 900 KAR 7:030 - Data reporting by health care providers

RELATES TO: KRS 216.2920, 216.2925, 216.2927, 304.14-135

NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS 216.2925 requires that the Cabinet for Health and Family Services promulgate administrative regulations requiring specified health care providers to provide the cabinet with data on cost, quality, and outcomes of health care services provided in the commonwealth. KRS 216.2923(3) authorizes the cabinet to promulgate administrative regulations to impose fines for failure to report required data. This administrative regulation establishes the required data elements, forms, and timetables for submission of data to the cabinet and fines for noncompliance.

Section 1. Definitions.

(1) "Ambulatory facility" is defined by KRS 216.2920(1).

(2) "Cabinet" is defined by KRS 216.2920(2).

(3) "Coding and transmission specifications", "Kentucky Inpatient and Outpatient Data Coordinator's Manual for Hospitals", and "Kentucky Data Coordinator's Manual for Ambulatory Facilities" means the document created and updated by a contracted vendor selected by the Cabinet that contains the technical directives the cabinet issues concerning technical matters subject to frequent change, including codes and data for uniform provider entry into particular character positions and fields of the standard billing form and uniform provider formatting of fields and character positions for purposes of electronic data transmissions.

(4) "Hospital" is defined by KRS 216.2920(6).

(5) "Hospitalization" means the inpatient medical episode identified by a patient's admission date, length of stay, and discharge date, that is identified by a provider-assigned patient control number unique to that inpatient episode, except for hospice care.

(6) "National Provider Identifier" or "NPI" means the unique identifier assigned by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to an individual or entity that provides health care services and supplies.

(7) "Outpatient services" means services performed on an outpatient basis in a hospital with records requirements in accordance with Section 3(2) of this administrative regulation or services performed on an outpatient basis by an ambulatory facility with data requirements in accordance with Section 4 of this administrative regulation.

(8) "Provider" means a hospital, ambulatory facility, clinic, or other entity of any nature providing hospitalizations, mammograms, or outpatient services and is defined accordingly in the Kentucky Inpatient and Outpatient Data Coordinator's Manual for Hospitals or the Kentucky Data Coordinator's Manual for Ambulatory Facilities.

(9) "Record" means the documentation of a hospitalization or outpatient service in the Kentucky Inpatient and Outpatient Data Coordinator's Manual for Hospitals or the Kentucky Data Coordinator's Manual for Ambulatory Facilities on a computer readable electronic medium.

(10) "Standard Billing Form" means the uniform health insurance claim form pursuant to KRS 304.14-135, the Professional 837 (ASC X12N 837) format, the Institutional 837 (ASC X12N 837) format, or its successor as adopted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or the HCFA 1500 for use by hospitals and other providers in billing for hospitalizations and outpatient services.

Section 2. Medicare Provider-Based Entity. A licensed outpatient facility that is a Medicare provider-based entity of a hospital and reports under the hospital's provider number shall be separately identifiable through a facility-specific NPI.

Section 3. Data Collection for Hospitals.

(1) Inpatient hospitalization records. A hospital shall document every hospitalization it provides on a Standard Billing Form and shall, for every record, copy and provide to the cabinet the data established in Section 12 of this administrative regulation.

(2) Outpatient services records.

(a) A hospital shall document on a Standard Billing Form, the outpatient services the hospital provides and shall, for every record, copy and provide to the cabinet the data established in Section 12 of this administrative regulation.

(b) A hospital shall submit records that contain the required outpatient services procedure codes included in the Kentucky Inpatient and Outpatient Data Coordinator's Manual for Hospitals.

(3) Data collection on patients. A hospital shall submit required data on every patient as established in Section 12 of this administrative regulation, regardless of the patient's billing or payment status.

Section 4. Data Collection for Ambulatory Facilities.

(1) Outpatient services records.

(a) An ambulatory facility shall submit outpatient services records if the ambulatory facility provides one (1) or more of the following outpatient services:

1. Surgery;

2. Childbirth;

3. Urgent treatment of minor illness or injury;

4. Emergency;

5. Mammography;

6. X-ray;

7. Ultrasound;

8. Computed tomography;

9. Magnetic resonance imaging;

10. Cardiac catheterization;

11. Positron emission tomography; and

12. Megavoltage radiation therapy.

(b) An ambulatory facility shall document on a Standard Billing Form, the outpatient services the ambulatory facility provides and shall, for every record, copy and provide to the cabinet the data established in Section 13 of this administrative regulation.

(c) An ambulatory facility shall submit records that contain the required outpatient services procedure codes included in the Kentucky Data Coordinator's Manual for Ambulatory Facilities.

(2) Data collection on patients. An ambulatory facility shall submit required data on every patient as established in Section 13 of this administrative regulation, regardless of the patient's billing or payment status.

Section 5. Data Finalization and Submission by Providers.

(1) Submission of final data.

(a) Data shall be final for purposes of submission to the cabinet as soon as a record is sufficiently final that the provider could submit it to a payer for billing purposes, regardless of if the record has actually been submitted to a payer.

(b) Finalized data shall not be withheld from submission to the cabinet on grounds that the data could be adjudicated by a payer.

(c) Data on a hospitalization shall not be submitted to the cabinet before a patient is discharged and before the record is sufficiently final that it could be used for billing.

(2) Data submission responsibility.

(a) If a patient is served by a mobile health service, specialized medical technology service, or another situation by which one (1) provider provides services under contract or other arrangement with another provider, responsibility for providing the required data to the cabinet shall reside with the provider that bills for the service or would do so if a service is unbilled.

(b) Charges for physician services provided within a hospital shall be reported to the cabinet.

1. Responsibility for reporting the physician charge data shall rest with the hospital if the physician is an employee of the hospital.

2. A physician charge contained within a record generated by a hospital shall be clearly identified in a separate field within the record so that the cabinet may ensure comparability if aggregating data with other hospital records that do not contain physician charges.

(3) Transmission of records.

(a) Records submitted to the cabinet by a hospital shall be uniformly completed and formatted according to coding and transmission specifications included in the Kentucky Inpatient and Outpatient Data Coordinator's Manual for Hospitals.

(b) Records submitted to the cabinet by an ambulatory facility shall be uniformly completed and formatted according to coding and transmission specifications included in the Kentucky Data Coordinator's Manual for Ambulatory Facilities.

(c) Each provider shall submit data by electronic transmission as included in the Kentucky Inpatient and Outpatient Data Coordinator's Manual for Hospitals and the Kentucky Data Coordinator's Manual for Ambulatory Facilities.

(d) Each provider shall provide back-up security against accidental erasure or loss of the data until all incomplete or inaccurate records identified by the cabinet have been corrected and resubmitted.

(4) Verification and audit trail for electronic data submissions.

(a) Each provider shall maintain a date log of data submissions and the number of records contained in each submission, and shall make the log available for inspection upon request by the cabinet.

(b) The cabinet shall, within twenty-four (24) hours of submission, verify by electronic message to each provider, the receipt of the provider's data transmissions and the number of records in each transmission.

(c) A provider shall immediately notify the cabinet of a discrepancy between the provider's data log and a verification notice.

Section 6. Data Submission Timetable for Providers.

(1) Quarterly submissions. Each provider shall submit data at least once for each calendar quarter. A quarterly submission shall:

(a) Contain data that during that quarter became final as established in Section 5(1) of this administrative regulation; and

(b) Be submitted to the cabinet not later than forty-five (45) days after the last day of the quarter.

1. If the 45th day falls on a weekend or holiday, the submission due date shall be the next working day.

2. Calendar quarters shall be January 1 through March 31, April 1 through June 30, July 1 through September 30, and October 1 through December 31.

(2) Submissions more frequent than quarterly. A provider may submit data after records become final as established in Section 5(1) of this administrative regulation and at a reasonable frequency convenient to a provider for accumulating and submitting batch data.

Section 7. Data Corrections for Providers.

(1) Editing. Data received by the cabinet shall, upon receipt, be edited to ensure completeness and validity of the data. Computer editing routines shall identify for correction every record in which the submitted contents of required fields are not consistent with the cabinet's coding and transmission specifications contained in the Kentucky Inpatient and Outpatient Data Coordinator's Manual for Hospitals and the Kentucky Data Coordinator's Manual for Ambulatory Facilities.

(2) Submission of corrections. The cabinet shall allow a provider thirty (30) days in which to submit corrected copies of initially submitted data the cabinet identifies as incomplete or invalid as a result of edits.

(a) The thirty (30) days shall begin on the date of the cabinet's notice informing the provider that corrections are required.

(b) A provider shall submit to the cabinet corrected data by electronic transmission within thirty (30) days.

(c) Corrected data submitted to the cabinet shall be uniformly completed and formatted according to the cabinet's coding and transmission specifications included in the Kentucky Inpatient and Outpatient Data Coordinator's Manual for Hospitals and the Kentucky Data Coordinator's Manual for Ambulatory Facilities.

(3) Percentage error rate.

(a) If editing data upon its initial submission, the cabinet shall identify and return to the provider for correction every record in which one (1) or more of the required data elements fails to pass the edit.

(b) If editing data that a provider has submitted, the cabinet shall check for an error rate per quarter of no more than one (1) percent of records or not more than ten (10) records, whichever is greater.

(c) The cabinet may return for further correction, any submission of allegedly corrected data in which the provider fails to achieve a corrected error rate per quarter of no more than one (1) percent of records or not more than ten (10) records, whichever is greater.

Section 8. Fines for Noncompliance for Providers.

(1) A provider failing to meet quarterly submission guidelines as established in Sections 6 and 7 of this administrative regulation shall be assessed a fine of $500 per violation.

(2) The cabinet shall notify a noncompliant provider by certified mail, return receipt requested, of the documentation of the reporting deficiency and the assessment of the fine.

(3) A provider shall have thirty (30) days from the date of receipt of the notification letter to pay the fine, which shall be made payable to the Kentucky State Treasurer and sent by certified mail to the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Office of Data Analytics, 275 East Main Street 4 W-E, Frankfort, Kentucky 40621.

(4) Fines during a calendar year shall not exceed $1,500 per provider.

Section 9. Extension or Waiver of Data Submission Timelines.

(1) A provider experiencing extenuating circumstances or a hardship may request from the cabinet, in writing, a data submission extension or waiver.

(a) A provider shall request an extension or waiver from the Office of Data Analytics on or before the last day of the data reporting period to receive an extension or waiver for that period.

(b) An extension or waiver shall not exceed a continuous period of greater than six (6) months.

(2) The cabinet shall consider the following criteria in determining whether or not to grant an extension or waiver:

(a) Whether or not the request was made due to an event beyond the provider's control, such as a natural disaster, catastrophic event, or theft of necessary equipment or information;

(b) The severity of the event prompting the request; and

(c) Whether or not the provider continues to gather and submit the information necessary for billing.

(3) A provider shall not apply for more than three (3) extensions or waivers during a calendar year.

Section 10. Appeals for Providers.

(1) A provider notified of its noncompliance and assessed a fine pursuant to Section 8(1) of this administrative regulation shall have the right to appeal within thirty (30) days of the date of the notification letter.

(a) If the provider believes the action by the cabinet is unfair, without reason, or unwarranted, and the provider wishes to appeal, the provider shall appeal in writing to the Secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, 5th Floor, 275 East Main Street, Frankfort, Kentucky 40621.

(b) An appeal shall be filed in accordance with KRS Chapter 13B.

(2) Upon receipt of the appeal, the secretary cabinet or designee shall issue a notice of hearing no later than twenty (20) days before the date of the hearing. The notice of the hearing shall comply with KRS 13B.050. The secretary shall appoint a hearing officer to conduct the hearing in accordance with KRS Chapter 13B.

(3) The hearing officer shall issue a recommendation in accordance with KRS 13B.110. Upon receipt of the recommended order, following consideration of any exceptions filed pursuant to KRS 13B.110(4), the secretary shall enter a final decision pursuant to KRS 13B.120.

Section 11. Working Contacts for Providers.

(1) On or before the last day of the data reporting period, a provider shall report by electronic transmission to the cabinet the names and telephone numbers of a designated contact person and one (1) back-up person to facilitate technical follow-up in data reporting and submission.

(a) A provider's designated contact and back-up shall not be the chief executive officer unless no other person employed by the provider has the requisite technical expertise.

(b) The designated contact shall be the person responsible for review of the provider's data for accuracy prior to the publication by the cabinet.

(2) If the chief executive officer, designated contact person, or back-up person changes during the year, the name and telephone number of the replacing person shall be reported immediately to the cabinet.

Section 12. Required Data Elements for Hospitals. A hospital shall ensure that each record submitted to the cabinet contains the data elements included in the Kentucky Inpatient and Outpatient Data Coordinator's Manual for Hospitals.

Section 13. Required Data Elements for Ambulatory Facilities. An ambulatory facility shall ensure that each record submitted to the cabinet contains the data elements included in the Kentucky Data Coordinator's Manual for Ambulatory Facilities.

Section 14. Required Elements for Manuals. "Kentucky Inpatient and Outpatient Data Coordinator's Manual for Hospitals", or "Kentucky Data Coordinator's Manual for Ambulatory Facilities" shall be created and updated by a contracted vendor selected by the cabinet. The manual shall be found on the office's Web site at: https://www.chfs.ky.gov/agencies/ohda/Pages/hfsd.aspx.

900 KAR 7:030

35 Ky.R. 2838; Am. 36 Ky.R. 325; eff. 8-12-2009; 36 Ky.R. 325; 1356; eff. 3-5-2010; 37 Ky.R. 1097; eff. 12-15-2010; 37 Ky.R. 2763; 38 Ky.R. 22; eff. 8-5-2011; 38 Ky.R. 1236; eff. 3-21-2012; 38 Ky.R. 2102; eff. 8-31-2012; 39 Ky.R. 1785; eff. 5-3-2013; 40 Ky.R. 1929; eff. 5-2-2014; 2865; 41 Ky.R. 505; eff. 10-15-2014; 1891; eff. 6-5-2015; 42 Ky.R. 1646; 2126; eff. 2-5-2016; 43 Ky.R. 2228; 44 Ky.R. 527; eff. 9-20-2017; 45 Ky.R. 2482; eff. 5-31-2019; 50 Ky.R. 1379; eff. 6/18/2024.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 216.2923(3), 216.2925