La. Admin. Code tit. 37 § XIII-2509

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

Section XIII-2509 - Notification of Audit

A. Payers and providers shall make every effort to resolve billing inquiries directly. To support this process, the name and contact telephone number (and/or facsimile number) of each payer or provider representative shall be exchanged no later than the time of billing for a provider and the point of first inquiry by a payer.

B. If a satisfactory resolution of the questions surrounding the bill is not achieved by payer and provider representatives, then a full audit process may be initiated by the payer.

C. Generally, billing audits require documentation from or review of a patient's health record and other similar medical/clinical documentation. Health records exist primarily to ensure continuity of care for a patient; therefore, the use of a patient's record for an audit must be secondary to its use in patient care.

D. To alleviate the potential conflict with clinical uses of the health record and to reduce the cost of conducting a necessary audit, all payer billing audits shall begin with a notification to the provider of an intent to audit. Notification of the provider by the qualified billing auditor shall occur no later than four months following receipt of the final bill by the payer. Once notified, the provider shall respond to the qualified billing auditor within one month with a schedule for the conduct of the audit. The qualified billing auditor shall complete the audit within six months of receipt of the final bill by the payer. When there is a substantial and continuing relationship between a payer and a provider, this relationship may warrant a notification, response, and audit schedule other than that outlined herein. Also, each party shall make reasonable provisions to accommodate circumstances in which the schedule specified herein cannot be met by the other party.

E. All billing audits shall be conducted "on site."

F. All requests, whether telephonically or written, for billing audits shall include the following information:

1. the basis of the payer's intent to conduct an audit on a particular bill or group of bills (when the intent is to audit only specific charges or portions of the bill(s), this information should be included in the notification request);

2. name of the patient;

3. admit and discharge dates;

4. name of the auditor and the name of the audit firm;

5. medical record number and provider's patient account number; and

6. whom to contact at the payer institution and, if applicable, at the agent institution to discuss this request and schedule the audit.

G. Providers who cannot accommodate an audit request that conforms with these guidelines shall explain why the request cannot be met by the provider in a reasonable period of time. Auditors shall group audits to increase efficiency whenever possible.

1. If a provider believes an auditor will have problems accessing records, the provider shall notify the auditor prior to the scheduled date of audit. Providers shall supply the auditor/payer with any information that could affect the efficiency of the audit once the auditor is on site.

La. Admin. Code tit. 37, § XIII-2509

Promulgated by the Department of Insurance, Office of the Commissioner, LR 20:311 (March 1994).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with Act 664 of the 1993 Regular Legislative Session and R.S. 22:12.