Section 48.200.220 - Auditing of claims-Requirements-Prohibited practicesAn entity that audits claims or an independent third party that contracts with an entity to audit claims:
(1) Must establish, in writing, a procedure for a pharmacy to appeal the entity's findings with respect to a claim and must provide a pharmacy with a notice regarding the procedure, in writing or electronically, prior to conducting an audit of the pharmacy's claims;(2) May not conduct an audit of a claim more than twenty-four months after the date the claim was adjudicated by the entity;(3) Must give at least fifteen days' advance written notice of an on-site audit to the pharmacy or corporate headquarters of the pharmacy;(4) May not conduct an on-site audit during the first five days of any month without the pharmacy's consent;(5) Must conduct the audit in consultation with a pharmacist who is licensed by this or another state if the audit involves clinical or professional judgment;(6) May not conduct an on-site audit of more than two hundred fifty unique prescriptions of a pharmacy in any twelve-month period except in cases of alleged fraud;(7) May not conduct more than one on-site audit of a pharmacy in any twelve-month period;(8) Must audit each pharmacy under the same standards and parameters that the entity uses to audit other similarly situated pharmacies;(9) Must pay any outstanding claims of a pharmacy no more than forty-five days after the earlier of the date all appeals are concluded or the date a final report is issued under RCW 48.200.260(3);(10) May not include dispensing fees or interest in the amount of any overpayment assessed on a claim unless the overpaid claim was for a prescription that was not filled correctly;(11) May not recoup costs associated with: (b) Other errors that do not result in financial harm to the entity or a consumer; and(12) May not charge a pharmacy for a denied or disputed claim until the audit and the appeals procedure established under subsection (1) of this section are final.Amended by 2020 c 240,§ 11, eff. 1/1/2022.Renumbered from 19.340.040 by 2020 c 240,§ 18, eff. 1/1/2022.Added by 2014 c 213,§ 4, eff. 6/12/2014.