With the exceptions noted in
paragraph 1.0,
the contractor shall have proof of any double coverage payments
prior to adjudication of the claim.
2.1 No
Evidence Of Double Coverage
If there is no information
to suggest the claim could be covered by another health insurance
plan or there is no information on the claim to suggest that the
charges have been submitted to or paid by other insurance, the claim shall
be processed.
2.2 Double
Coverage Is Known
2.2.1 Whether it is a network or
non-network claim, payment must be obtained from the primary insurance coverages
or plans.
2.2.1.1 The contractor shall include
procedures to ensure this requirement is met in all agreements with
its network providers of care. If the provider of care is owned
or operated by the contractor or is in a clinic or other facility
operated by the contractor as an employee or subcontractor, the
Other Health Insurance (OHI) shall also be collected by the contractor
or its designee. If the claim indicates no OHI coverage, but the
Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) or contractor’s
file indicates otherwise, a signed statement or verbal notice from
the beneficiary or sponsor furnishing the termination date of the
other coverage will be necessary for the contractor to inactivate
the positive OHI record.
2.2.1.2 The contractor shall have acceptable
evidence of processing by the double coverage plan prior to processing
the claim. If there is no such evidence submitted with the claim,
the contractor shall deny the claim and send an Explanation of Benefits
(EOB) to the beneficiary and to the provider.
2.2.2 The contractor shall take appropriate
action to ensure that a sample of all Electronic Media Claims (EMC)
is audited on a no less than annual basis with verification obtained
from the provider to corroborate the submission of a zero OHI payment
amount.
2.2.3 In addition the contractor
shall, no less than annually, audit past EMC submissions to identify
all providers who may show a pattern of submissions with OHI payment
amounts of zero or of a nominal amount (e.g., $.01, $1.00, $5.00).
All EMC providers who demonstrate a possible pattern of “plugging”
nominal OHI payment amounts shall be referred to the contractor’s
Program Integrity staff for further investigation.
2.2.4 Except for EMC claims, when
Medicare is the primary payer, an Explanation of Medicare Benefits (EOMB)
is required. This will enable the contractor to determine whether
the provider accepted assignment under Medicare; if the provider
accepts assignment, the provider cannot bill for any difference
between the billed charge and the Medicare allowed amount. In addition,
it will identify cost-share and deductible amounts as well as any allowable
charge reductions.
2.2.5 For double
coverage situations which do not involve the routine issuance of
an EOB, the following shall be accepted in lieu of an EOB:
• Documentation that the beneficiary
belongs to the plan;
• Documentation that there is
a liability beyond the amounts paid by the primary payor;
• Documentation that the liability
is specified in the plan contract; and
• Documentation of total liability
on the claim.
2.2.6 The contractor
shall establish an OHI record on DEERS for the patient and request
completion of a double coverage questionnaire if a contractor becomes
aware of the possible existence of OHI through means other than
the adjudication of a pending claim (e.g., a provider returns all
or a part of TRICARE payment because of payment by OHI). Depending
upon the circumstances of the individual occurrence, reopening and
adjustment of prior claims and/or a Program Integrity referral may
also be appropriate. All affected claims shall be adjusted appropriately,
although adjustment action may be temporarily deferred at the request
of Program Integrity staff if such adjustment would compromise their
investigation.
2.3 DRG-Based
System
The contractor
shall be able to identify OHI payments for all separately-billable
components of the inpatient services on a claim. If the OHI EOB
does not adequately identify the payments for each separately-billable component,
or if claims for their charges are not received, the entire OHI
payment is to be applied to the inpatient operating costs. This
also applies to claims from higher volume mental health hospitals
and units subject to the TRICARE Inpatient Mental Health Per Diem
Payment System that are authorized to bill for institution-based professional
services.
2.4 Medicare Claims
2.4.1 Claims
processed on which Medicare is primary payer require review for
possible double coverage. The contractor shall be required to build
other health insurance files on these beneficiaries that identify
coverages (primarily Medicare supplements) that may be primary to
TRICARE. Contractors shall use any reasonably reliable indicator
to identify other coverages including, but not limited to, crossover
claims received from Medicare carriers and fiscal intermediaries,
crossover files received from Medicare carriers and fiscal intermediaries,
paper claims, information resulting from refunds, and information
from providers.
2.4.2 The contractor shall ensure
that providers are aware that if they receive any TRICARE payments
that duplicate payments made by another coverage, they shall return
the TRICARE payment. Since TRICARE remains secondary payer to all
other coverages, contractors shall recover all payments that they
subsequently identify as duplicating a payment made by any coverage,
including Medicare supplements, that is primary to TRICARE.
2.5 Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF)
Prospective Payment System (PPS)
Payment under the SNF PPS is
dependent upon the PPS-specific information submitted by the provider
with the TRICARE Claim (see
Chapter 8, Section 1).
However, if the beneficiary has OHI which has processed the claim
as primary payer, it is likely that the information necessary to
determine the TRICARE PPS payment amount will not be available.
Therefore, special procedures have been established for processing
SNF claims involving OHI. These claims will not be processed as
PPS claims. Such claims will be allowed as billed unless there is
a provider discount agreement. TRICARE payment will be the difference
between the billed charge and the OHI payment. The only exception
to this is cases when there is evidence on the face of the claim
that the beneficiary’s liability is limited to less than the billed
charge (e.g., the OHI has a discount agreement with the provider
under which the provider agrees to accept a percentage of the billed
charge as payment in full). In such cases, the TRICARE payment is
to be the difference between the limited amount established by the
OHI and the OHI payment.