How to Know When You Can Appeal
When we do not authorize or approve a service or pay for a claim, we must notify you of your right to appeal that decision. Your notice may come directly from us, or through your treating physician or provider.
Decisions You Can Appeal
You can appeal the following decisions:
1. We do not approve a service that you or your treating physician or provider has requested.
2. We do not pay for a service that you have already received.
3. We do not authorize a service or pay for a claim because we say that it is not "medically necessary."
4. We do not authorize a service or pay for a claim because we say that it is not covered under your insurance policy, and you believe it is covered.
5. We do not notify you, within 10 business days of receiving your request, whether or not we will authorize a requested service.
6. We do not authorize a referral to a specialist.
Decisions You Cannot Appeal
You cannot appeal the following decisions:
1. You disagree with our decision as to the amount of "usual and customary charges."
2. You disagree with how we are coordinating benefits when you have health insurance with more than one insurer.
3. You disagree with how we have applied your claims or services to your plan deductible.
4. You disagree with the amount of coinsurance or copayments that you paid.
5. You disagree with our decision to issue or not issue a policy to you.
6. You are dissatisfied with any rate increases you may receive under your insurance policy.
7. You believe we have violated any other parts of the Arizona Insurance Code.
If you disagree with a decision that is not appeal-able according to this list, you may still file a complaint with the Arizona Department of Insurance, Consumer Affairs Division, 2910 N. 44th, Suite 210, Phoenix, AZ 85018.
Who Can File An Appeal?
Either you or your treating physician or provider can file an appeal on your behalf. At the end of this packet is a form that you may use for filing your appeal. You are not required to use this form, and can send us a letter with the sameinformation. If you decide to appeal our decision to deny authorization for a service, you should tell your treating physician or provider so he/she can help you with the information you need to present your case.
Description of the Appeals Process
There are two types of appeals: an expedited appeal for urgent matters, and a standard appeal. Each type of appeal has 3 levels. The appeals operate in a similar fashion, except that expedited appeals are processed much faster because of the patient's condition.
Expedited Appeals Standard Appeals
(for urgently needed services (for non- urgent services you have not yet received) or denied claims)
Level 1. Expedited Medical Review Informal Reconsideration 1
Level 2 Expedited Appeal Formal Appeal
Level 3 Expedited External Independent External Independent
Medical Review Medical Review
We make the decisions at Level 1 and Level 2. An outside reviewer, who is completely independent from our company, makes Level 3 decisions. You are not responsible to pay the costs of the external review if you choose to appeal level 1-3.
1 Informal reconsideration is not available for a denied claim.
EXPEDITED APPEAL PROCESS FOR URGENTLY NEEDED SERVICES
NOT YET PROVIDED
Level 1. Expedited Medical Review
Your request: You may obtain Expedited Medical Review of your denied request for a service that has not already been provided
if:
• You have coverage with us,
• We denied your request for a requested service, and
• Your treating physician or provider certifies in writing and provides supporting documentation that the time required to process your request through the Informal Reconsideration and Formal Appeal process (about 60 days) is likely to cause a significant negative change in your medical condition. (At the end of this packet is a form that your treating physician or provider may use for this purpose. Your treating physician or provider could also send a letter or make up a form with similar information.) Your treating physician or provider must send the certification and documentation to:
Physical Health Issues
UnitedHealthcare
Central Escalation Unit
P.O. Box 30573
Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0573
Fax: 801-567-5498
To reach us by telephone please call the number listed on the back of your UnitedHealthcare ID card. Our decision: We have 1 business day after we receive the information from the treating physician or provider to decide whether we should change our decision and authorize your requested service. Within that same business day, we must call and tell you and your treating physician or provider, and mail you our decision in writing. The written decision must explain the reasons for our decision and tell you the documents on which we based our decision.
If we deny your request: You may immediately appeal to Level 2.
If we grant your request: We will authorize the service and the appeal is over.
If we refer your case to Level 3: We may decide to skip Level 1 and Level 2 and send your case straight to an independent reviewer at Level 3.
Level 2: Expedited Appeal
Your request: If we deny your request at Level 1, you may request an Expedited Appeal. After you receive our Level 1 denial, your treating physician or provider must immediately send us a written request, at the office specified in the letter informing you of the outcome of your Level 1 review, to tell us you are appealing t Level 2. To help your appeal, your treating physician or provider should also send us any more information (that the treating physician or provider hasn't already sent us) to show why you need the requested service. Our decision: We have 3 business days after we receive the request to make our decision.
If we deny your request: You may immediately appeal to Level 3. If we grant your request: We will authorize the service and the appeal is over. If we refer your case to Level 3: We may decide to skip Level 2 and send your case straight to an independent reviewer at Level 3 Level 3: Expedited External, Independent Review Your request: You may appeal to Level 3 only after you have appealed through Levels 1 and 2. You have only 5 business days after you receive our Level 2 decision to send us your written request for Expedited External Independent Review.
Appeals/Grievance Coordinator
P.O Box 30978
Salt Lake City, UT 84130
To reach us by telephone please call the number listed on the back of your UnitedHealthcare ID card. Neither you nor your treating physician or provider is responsible for the cost of any external independent review. The process: There are two types of Level 3 appeals, depending on the issues in your case:
(1) Medical necessity
These are cases where we have decided not to authorize a service because we think the services you (or your treating physician or provider) are asking for, are not medically necessary to treat your problem. For medical necessity cases, the independent reviewer is a provider retained by an outside independent review organization ("IRO"), that is procured by the Arizona Insurance Department, and not connected with our company. The IRO provider must be a provider who typically manages the condition under review.
(2) Contract coverage
These are cases where we have denied coverage because we believe the requested service is not covered under your insurance policy. For contract coverage cases, the Arizona Insurance Department is the independent reviewer.
Medical Necessity Cases: Within 1 business day of receiving your request, we must: 1. Mail a written acknowledgement of the request to the Director of Insurance, you, and your treating physician or provider. 2. Send the Director of Insurance: the request for review; your policy, evidence of coverage or similar document; all medical records and supporting documentation used to render our decision; a summary of the applicable issues including a statement of our decision; the criteria used and linical reasons for our decision; and the relevant portions of our utilization review guidelines. We must also include the name and credentials of the health care provider who reviewed and upheld the denial at the earlier appeal levels.
Within 2 business days of receiving our information, the Insurance Director must send all the submitted information to an external independent reviewer organization (the "IRO").
Within 72 hours of receiving the information the IRO must make a decision and send the decision to the Insurance Director.
Within 1 business day of receiving the IRO's decision, the Insurance Director must mail a notice of the decision to us, you, and your treating physician or provider.
The decision (medical necessity): If the IRO decides that we should provide the service, we must authorize the service. If the IRO agrees with our decision to deny the service, the appeal is over. Your only further option is to pursue your claim in Superior Court. Contract Coverage Cases: Within 1 business day of receiving your request, we must:
1. Mail a written acknowledgement of your request to the Insurance Director, you, and your treating physician or provider.
2. Send the Director of Insurance: the request for review, your policy, evidence of coverage or similar document, all medical records and supporting documentation used to render our decision, a summary of the applicable issues including a statement of our decision, the criteria used and any clinical reasons for our decision and the relevant portions of our utilization review
guidelines.
Within 2 business days of receiving this information, the Insurance Director must determine if the service or claim is covered, issue a decision, and send a notice to us, you, and your treating physician or provider.
Referral to the IRO for contract coverage cases: The Insurance Director is sometimes unable to determine issues of coverage. If this occurs, the Insurance Director will forward your case to an IRO. The IRO will have 5 business days to make a decision and send it to the Insurance Director. The Insurance Director will have 1 business day after receiving the IRO's decision to send the decision to us, you, and your treating physician or provider. The decision (contract coverage):If you disagree with Insurance Director's final decision on a contract coverage issue, you may request a hearing with the Office of Administrative Hearings ("OAH"). If we disagree with the Director's final decision, we may also request a hearing before OAH. A hearing must be requested within 30 days of receiving the Director's decision. OAH must promptly schedule and complete a hearing for appeals from expedited Level 3 decisions.
STANDARD APPEAL PROCESS FOR NON-URGENT SERVICES AND DENIED CLAIMS
Level 1 Informal Reconsideration
Your request: You may obtain Informal Reconsideration of your denied request for a service if:
• You have coverage with us,
• We denied your request for a requested service,
• You do not qualify for an expedited appeal, and
• You or your treating physician or provider asks for Informal Reconsideration within 2 years of the date we first deny the requested service by calling, writing, or faxing your request to: Physical Health Issues UnitedHealthcare Central Escalation Unit P.O. Box 30573 Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0573 Fax: 801-567-5498 Mental Health Issues United Behavioral Health Appeals Coordinator 1900 East Golf Road, Suite 300 Schaumburg, IL 60173 Fax: 1-800-322-9104 Dental IssuesAppeals/Grievance Coordinator Grievance & Appeals Department P.O. Box 30569 Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0569 Fax: (714) 364-6266 Vision Issues
UnitedHealthcare Appeals/Grievance Coordinator P.O Box 30978 Salt Lake City, UT 84130
To reach us by telephone please call the number listed on the back of your UnitedHealthcare ID card. Claim for a service already provided but not paid for: You may not obtain Informal Reconsideration of your denied request for the payment of a service. Instead, you may start the review process by seeking a Formal Appeal. Our acknowledgement: We have 5 business days after we receive your request for Informal Reconsideration("the receipt date") to send you and your treating physician or provider a notice that we received your request.
Our decision: We have 30 days after the receipt date to decide whether we should change our decision and authorize your requested service. Within that same 30 days, we must send you and your treating physician or provider our written decision. The written decision must explain the reasons for our decision and tell you the documents on which we based our decision.
If we deny your request: You have 60 days to appeal to Level 2.
If we grant your request: We will authorize the service and the appeal is over.
If we refer your case to Level 3: We may decide to skip Level 1 and Level 2 and send your case straight to an independent reviewer at Level 3.
Level 2 Formal Appeal
Your request: You may request a Formal Appeal if: (1) we deny your request at Level 1, or (2) you have an unpaid claim and we did not provide a Level 1 review. After you receive our Level 1 denial, you or your treating physician or provider must send us a written request within 60 days to tell us you are appealing to Level 2. If we did not provide a Level 1 review of your denied claim, you have 2 years from our first denial notice to request Formal Appeal. To help us make a decision on your appeal, you or your treating physician or provider should also send us any more information (that you haven't already sent us) to show why we should authorize the requested service or pay the claim. Send your appeal request and information to:
Physical Health Issues
UnitedHealthcare
Central Escalation Unit
P.O. Box 30573
Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0573
Fax: 801-567-5498
To reach us by telephone please call the number listed on the back of your UnitedHealthcare ID card. Our acknowledgement: We have 5 business days after we receive your request for Formal Appeal ("the receipt date") to send you and your treating physician or provider a notice that we received your request. Our decision: For a denied service that you have not yet If we grant your request: We will authorize the service or pay the claim and the appeal is over.
If we refer your case to Level 3: We may decide to skip Level 2 and send your case straight to an independent reviewer at Level 3.
Level 3: External, Independent Review
Your request: You may appeal to Level 3 only after you have appealed through Levels 1 and 2. You have four months after you receive our Level 2 decision to send us your written request for External Independent Review.
Send your request and any more supporting information to:
Physical Health Issues
UnitedHealthcare
Central Escalation Unit
4316 Rice Lake Road
Duluth, MN 55811
Fax: 801-938-2100 or 801-938-2109
Mental Health Issues
United Behavioral Health
Appeals Coordinator
1900 East Golf Road, Suite 300
Schaumburg, IL 60173
Fax: 1-800-322-9104
To reach us by telephone please call the number listed on the back of your UnitedHealthcare ID card.
Neither you nor your treating physician or provider is responsible for the cost of any external independent review. The process: There are two types of Level 3 appeals, depending on the issues in your case:
(1) Medical necessity
These are cases where we have decided not to authorize a service because we think the services you (or your treating physician or provider) are asking for, are not medically necessary to treat your problem. For medical necessity cases, the independent reviewer is a provider retained by an outside independent review organization (IRO), procured by the Arizona Insurance Department, and not connected with our company. For medical necessity cases, the provider must be a provider who typically manages the condition under review.
(2) Contract coverage
These are cases where we have denied coverage because we believe the requested service is not covered under your insurance policy. For contract coverage cases, the Arizona Insurance Department is the independent reviewer.
Medical Necessity Cases
Within 5 business days of receiving your request, we must:
1. Mail a written acknowledgement of the request to the Director of Insurance, you, and your treating physician or provider.
2. Send the Director of Insurance: the request for review; your policy, evidence of coverage or similar document; all medical records and supporting documentation used to render our decision; a summary of the applicable issues including a statement of our decision; the criteria used and clinical reasons for our decision; and the relevant portions of our utilization review guidelines. We must also include the name and credentials of the health care provider who reviewed and upheld the denial at the earlier appeal levels.
Within 5 days of receiving our information, the Insurance Director must send all the submitted information to an external independent review organization (the "IRO").
Within 21 days of receiving the information the IRO must make a decision and send the decision to the Insurance Director.eceived, we have 30 days after the receipt date to decide whether we should change our decision and authorize your requested service. For denied claims, we have 60 days to decide whether we should change our decision and pay your claim. We will send you and your treating physician or provider our decision in writing. The written decision must explain the reasons for our decision and tell you the documents on which we based our decision.
If we deny your request or claim: You have four months to appeal to Level 3.
Within 5 business days of receiving the IRO's decision, the Insurance Director must mail a notice of the decision to us, you, and your treating physician or provider.
The decision (medical necessity): If the IRO decides that we should provide the service or pay the claim, we must authorize the service or pay the claim. If the IRO agrees with our decision to deny the service or payment, the appeal is over. Your only further option is to pursue your claim in Superior Court.
Contract Coverage Cases
Within 5 business days of receiving your request, we must:
1. Mail a written acknowledgement of your request to the Insurance Director, you, and your treating physician or provider.
2. Send the Director of Insurance: the request for review; your policy, evidence of coverage or similar document; all medical records and supporting documentation used to render our decision; a summary of the applicable issues including a statement of our decision; the criteria used and any clinical reasons for our decision; and the relevant portions of our utilization review guidelines. Within 15 business days of receiving this information, the Insurance Director must determine if the ervice or claim is covered, issue a decision, and send a notice to us, you, and your treating physician or provider. If the Director decides that we should provide the service or pay the claim, we must do so. Referral to the IRO for contract coverage cases: The Insurance Director is sometimes unable to determine issues of coverage. If this occurs, the Insurance Director will forward your case to an IRO. The IRO will have 21 days to make a decision and send it to the Insurance Director. The Insurance Director will have 5 business days after receiving the IRO's decision to send the decision to us, you, and your treating physician or provider. The decision (contract coverage): If you disagree with the Insurance Director's final decision on a coverage issue, you may request a hearing with the Office of Administrative Hearings ("OAH"). If we disagree with the Director's determination of coverage issues, we may also request a hearing at OAH. Hearings must be requested within 30 days of receiving the coverage issue determination. OAH has rules that govern the conduct of their
hearing proceedings.
Obtaining Medical Records
Arizona law (A.R.S. §12-2293) permits you to ask for a copy of your medical records. Your request must be in writing and must specify who you want to receive the records. The health care physician or provider who has your records will provide you or the person you specified with a copy of your records. Designated Decision-Maker: If you have a designated health care decision-maker, that person must send a written request for access to or copies of your medical records. The medical records must be provided to your health care decision-maker or a person designated in writing by your health care decision-maker unless you limit access to your medical records only to yourself or your health care decision-maker. Confidentiality: Medical records disclosed under A.R.S. §12-2293 remain confidential. If you participate in the appeal process, the relevant portions of your medical records may be disclosed only to people authorized to participate in the review process for the medical condition under review. These people may not disclose your medical information to any other people.
Documentation for an Appeal
If you decide to file an appeal, you must give us any material justification or documentation for the appeal at thetime the appeal is filed. If you gather new information during the course of your appeal, you should give it to us as soon as you get it. You must also give us the address and phone number where you can be contacted. If the appeal is already at Level 3, you should also send the information to the Department.
The Role of the Director of Insurance
Arizona law (A.R.S. §20-2533(F)) requires "any member who files a complaint with the Department relating to an adverse decision to pursue the review process prescribed" by law. This means, that for appealable decisions, you must pursue the health care appeals process before the Insurance Director can investigate a complaint you may have against our company based on the decision at issue in the appeal.
The appeal process requires the Director to:
1. Oversee the appeals process.
2. Maintain copies of each utilization review plan submitted by insurers.
3. Receive, process, and act on requests from an insurer for External, Independent Review.
4. Enforce the decisions of insurers.
5. Review decisions of insurers.
6. Report to the Legislature.
7. Send, when necessary, a record of the proceedings of an appeal to Superior Court or to the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH).
8. Issue a final administrative decision on coverage issues, including the notice of the right to request a hearing at OAH.
Receipt of Documents
Any written notice, acknowledgment, request, decision or other written document required to be mailed is deemed received by the person to whom the document is properly addressed on the fifth business day after being mailed. "Properly addressed" means your last known address.
Q: During the appeal process, at what point can additional records be submitted?
A: Additional medical records may be submitted at the redetermination level (1st level) and the reconsideration level (2nd level). If your appeal is a result of a recovery audit contractor (RAC) determination, the RAC will forward the medical records to the affiliated contractor, or First Coast Service Options Inc.
Q: Who makes up the Departmental Appeals Board (DAB), which is the fourth level in the appeals process?
A: The DAB includes the board itself (supported by the Appellate Division), Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) (supported by the Civil Remedies Division), and the Medicare Appeals Council (supported by the Medicare Operations Division). Thus, the DAB has three adjudicatory divisions, each with its own set of judges and staff, as well as its own areas of jurisdiction. The DAB also has a leadership role in implementing alternative dispute resolution (ADR) across the department, since the DAB chair is the designated dispute resolution specialist under the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act of 1996.
Q: What does the term “amount in controversy” mean?
A: The amount in controversy (AIC) is the amount in dispute, at a minimum, that you must have for the administrative law judge (ALJ) and judicial review levels in the appeal process.
Q: Is there a resource that highlights for providers or beneficiaries what would be considered a relevant appeal to submit?
A: All claims or claim line items that have been denied may be appealed. You can follow the guidelines outlined in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Internet only manuals (IOM).
Q: Can we resubmit a claim that was denied by the recovery audit contractor (RAC) if we determine the incorrect code was submitted?
A: No, you must submit a redetermination (the first level of the appeals process). There are edits in the fiscal intermediary shared system (FISS) that will prevent you from performing an adjustment against the denied claim or submitting a new claim for the same dates of service.
Q: What are the reason code ranges for claims when they’ve denied?
A: For claims that have been reviewed by the medical review department and denied, the reason code will start with a “5”. If your claim was denied through the fiscal intermediary shared system (FISS) the reason code will start with a “7”, which is a non-medical denial.
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