Health maintenance organizations using preauthorization must give providers required information quickly, decide preauthorization requests within set timeframes, maintain phone access, and generally cannot reduce payment for preauthorized services except in specified cases.
Sec. 843.348. PREAUTHORIZATION OF HEALTH CARE SERVICES. (a) In this section, "preauthorization" means a determination by a health maintenance organization that health care services proposed to be provided to a patient are medically necessary and appropriate. (b) A health maintenance organization that uses a preauthorization process for health care services shall provide each participating physician or provider, not later than the fifth business day after the date a request is made, a list of health care services that require preauthorization and information concerning the preauthorization process. (c) If proposed health care services require preauthorization as a condition of the health maintenance organization's payment to a participating physician or provider, the health maintenance organization shall determine whether the health care services proposed to be provided to the enrollee are medically necessary and appropriate. (d) On receipt of a request from a participating physician or provider for preauthorization, the health maintenance organization shall review and issue a determination indicating whether the health care services are preauthorized. The determination must be issued and transmitted not later than the third calendar day after the date the request is received by the health maintenance organization. (e) If the proposed health care services involve inpatient care and the health maintenance organization requires preauthorization as a condition of payment, the health maintenance organization shall review the request and issue a length of stay for the admission into a health care facility based on the recommendation of the patient's physician or provider and the health maintenance organization's written medically accepted screening criteria and review procedures. If the proposed health care services are to be provided to a patient who is an inpatient in a health care facility at the time the services are proposed, the health maintenance organization shall review the request and issue a determination indicating whether proposed services are preauthorized within 24 hours of the request by the physician or provider. (f) A health maintenance organization shall have appropriate personnel reasonably available at a toll-free telephone number to respond to requests for a preauthorization between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. central time Monday through Friday on each day that is not a legal holiday and between 9 a.m. and noon central time on Saturday, Sunday, and legal holidays. A health maintenance organization must have a telephone system capable of accepting or recording incoming phone calls for preauthorizations after 6 p.m. central time Monday through Friday and after noon central time on Saturday, Sunday, and legal holidays and responding to each of those calls not later than 24 hours after the call is received. (g) If the health maintenance organization has preauthorized health care services, the health maintenance organization may not deny or reduce payment to the physician or provider for those services based on medical necessity or appropriateness of care unless the physician or provider has materially misrepresented the proposed health care services or has substantially failed to perform the proposed health care services. (h) This section applies to an agent or other person with whom a health maintenance organization contracts to perform, or to whom the health maintenance organization delegates the performance of, preauthorization of proposed health care services. (i) A health maintenance organization providing routine vision services as a single health care service plan or providing dental health care services as a single health care service plan is not required to comply with Subsection (f) with respect to those services. For purposes of this subsection, "routine vision services" means a routine annual or biennial eye examination to determine ocular health and refractive conditions that may include provision of glasses or contact lenses. (j) A health maintenance organization described by Subsection (i) shall: (1) have appropriate personnel reasonably available at a toll-free telephone number to respond to requests for preauthorization under this section between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. central time Monday through Friday on each day that is not a legal holiday; (2) have a telephone system capable of accepting or recording incoming phone calls for preauthorizations after 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and all day on Saturday, Sunday, and legal holidays; and (3) respond to calls accepted or recorded on the telephone system described by Subdivision (2) not later than the next business day after the date the call is received. Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 214, Sec. 19, eff. June 17, 2003. Amended by: Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 669 (S.B. 51), Sec. 4, eff. September 1, 2005. Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1218 (S.B. 1742), Sec. 2.01, eff. September 1, 2019.