511.4. (a) A contracting agent, as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 511.1, shall beginning July 1, 2006, prior to contracting, annually thereafter on or before the contract anniversary date, and, in addition, upon the contracted provider’s written request, disclose to contracting providers all of the following information in an electronic format:
(1) The amount of payment for each service to be provided under the contract, including any fee schedules or other factors or units used in determining the fees for each service. To the extent that reimbursement is made pursuant to a specified fee schedule, the contract shall incorporate that fee schedule by reference, including the year of the schedule. For any proprietary fee schedule, the contract shall include sufficient detail that payment amounts related to that fee schedule can be accurately predicted.
(2) The detailed payment policies and rules and nonstandard coding methodologies used to adjudicate claims, which shall, unless otherwise prohibited by state law, do all of the following:
(A) When available, be consistent with Current Procedural Terminology (CPT), and standards accepted by nationally recognized medical societies and organizations, federal regulatory bodies, and major credentialing organizations.
(B) Clearly and accurately state what is covered by any global payment provisions for both professional and institutional services, any global payment provisions for all services necessary as part of a course of treatment in an institutional setting, and any other global arrangements, such as per diem hospital payments.
(C) At a minimum, clearly and accurately state the policies regarding all of the following:
(i) Consolidation of multiple services or charges and payment adjustments due to coding changes.
(ii) Reimbursement for multiple procedures.
(iii) Reimbursement for assistant surgeons.
(iv) Reimbursement for the administration of immunizations and injectable medications.
(v) Recognition of CPT modifiers.
(b) The information disclosures required by this section shall be in sufficient detail and in an understandable format that does not disclose proprietary trade secret information or violate copyright law or patented processes, so that a reasonable person with sufficient training, experience, and competence in claims processing can determine the payment to be made according to the terms of the contract.
(c) A contracting agent may disclose the fee schedules mandated by this section through the use of a Web site, so long as it provides written notice to the contracted provider at least 45 days prior to implementing a Web site transmission format or posting any changes to the information on the Web site.
(Added by Stats. 2005, Ch. 441, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2006.)