N.M. Code R. § 13.10.28.8

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 11, June 11, 2024

Section 13.10.28.8 - CLAIM SUBMISSION AND CODING CHANGES

A.General.

(1) Health carriers shall comply with both the provisions of this section and with the provisions of 13.10.12 NMAC, which provides for standardization of health claim forms.

(2) Claims information, including claim status information shall be subject to state and federal patient privacy protection laws.

(3) A health carrier that has entered into a contract with one or more intermediaries to conduct provider credentialing or provide payments to providers shall require the intermediary to indicate the name of the intermediary and the name of the health carrier for which it is conducting the work when contacting a provider on behalf of the health carrier.

B.Electronic submission.

(1) Health carriers shall make available to participating providers a process and procedure for submitting claims electronically.

(2) Health carriers shall make available to participating providers a process and procedure for electronically making coding changes for claims after submission.

(3) Claims that are transmitted electronically are deemed to be received by the health carrier on the date of receipt unless the provider receives immediate notice of a transmission error.

(4) When a claim is submitted electronically and the health carrier subsequently determines that there is an error or omission with the submission that will delay or prevent payment to the participating provider, the health carrier shall make a good faith effort to notify the participating provider by fax, electronic, or other written communication within 30 days following the date of receipt.

(5) Any notification from a health carrier to a provider that there is an error or omission in a claim submission must contain a specific statement regarding all information sought to rectify the error or omission. The carrier shall make a good faith effort to convey all of the errors or omissions to the provider at one time. A pattern of repetitive requests for the same information from a health carrier to a provider is a violation of Article 16 of the Insurance Code, as defined at § 59A-16-20.

C.Manual submission.

(1) Health carriers shall make standard forms available to providers for submitting claims manually via US mail, fax, e-mail, or hand delivery.

(2) Health carriers shall make standard forms available to providers for manual coding changes to be submitted via US mail, fax, e-mail, or hand delivery.

(3) Claims that are submitted via US mail are deemed to be received by the health carrier on the date of receipt. Claims that are transmitted via fax, E-mail or hand delivery are deemed to be received by the health carrier on the date of receipt unless the provider receives immediate notice of a transmission error.

(4) When a claim is submitted manually and the health carrier subsequently determines that there is an error or omission with the submission that will delay or prevent payment to the provider, the health carrier shall make a good faith effort to notify the participating provider in writing within 45 days following the date of receipt.

(5) Any notification from a health carrier to a provider that there is an error or omission in a claim submission must contain a specific statement regarding all information sought to rectify the error or omission. The carrier shall make a good faith effort to convey all of the errors or omissions to the provider at one time. A pattern of repetitive requests for the same information from a health carrier to a provider is violation of Article 16 of the Insurance Code, as defined at § 59A-16-20.

D.Access to Claims Status Information.

(1) Health carriers shall provide an electronic means whereby participating providers can access claim information within three business days of the date of receipt for electronic claims and within 10 business days of the date of receipt for manual claims.

(2) The information that is available to the provider shall indicate the status of the request for payment, including, but not limited to the following:

(a) date of receipt;

(b) identifying claim information, which may include enrollee/covered persons identifiers, date(s) of service, and appropriate coding, as required by the health carrier and agreed to by the provider;

(c) whether the claim is pending or if it has been accepted or rejected for payment;

(d) if the claim is pending, whether the health carrier has requested additional information from the provider to complete processing of the claim;

(e) if the claim has been accepted, the payment amount that has been approved; and

(f) a clear explanation of the circumstances if the claim has been found to involve particular or unusual circumstances that require special treatment and that are likely to delay payment.

N.M. Code R. § 13.10.28.8

Adopted by New Mexico Register, Volume XXVII, Issue 16, August 31, 2016, eff. 1/1/2017