§ 1395pp.
(a)
Conditions prerequisite to payment for items and services notwithstanding determination of disallowance
Where—
(1)
a determination is made that, by reason of section 1395y(a)(1) or (9) of this title or by reason of a coverage denial described in subsection (g), payment may not be made under part A or part B of this subchapter for any expenses incurred for items or services furnished an individual by a provider of services or by another person pursuant to an assignment under
(2)
both such individual and such provider of services or such other person, as the case may be, did not know, and could not reasonably have been expected to know, that payment would not be made for such items or services under such part A or part B,
then to the extent permitted by this subchapter, payment shall, notwithstanding such determination, be made for such items or services (and for such period of time as the Secretary finds will carry out the objectives of this subchapter), as though section 1395y(a)(1) and
section 1395y(a)(9) of this title did not apply and as though the coverage denial described in subsection (g) had not occurred. In each such case the Secretary shall notify both such individual and such provider of services or such other person, as the case may be, of the conditions under which payment for such items or services was made and in the case of comparable situations arising thereafter with respect to such individual or such provider or such other person, each shall, by reason of such notice (or similar notices provided before the enactment of this section), be deemed to have knowledge that payment cannot be made for such items or services or reasonably comparable items or services. Any provider or other person furnishing items or services for which payment may not be made by reason of section 1395y(a)(1) or (9) of this title or by reason of a coverage denial described in subsection (g) shall be deemed to have knowledge that payment cannot be made for such items or services if the claim relating to such items or services involves a case, provider or other person furnishing services, procedure, or test, with respect to which such provider or other person has been notified by the Secretary (including notification by a quality improvement organization) that a pattern of inappropriate utilization has occurred in the past, and such provider or other person has been allowed a reasonable time to correct such inappropriate utilization.
(f)
Presumption with respect to coverage denial; rebuttal; requirements; “fiscal intermediary” defined
(1)
A home health agency which meets the applicable requirements of paragraphs (3) and (4) shall be presumed to meet the requirement of subsection (a)(2).
(2)
The presumption of paragraph (1) with respect to specific services may be rebutted by actual or imputed knowledge of the facts described in subsection (a)(2), including any of the following:
(A)
Notice by the fiscal intermediary of the fact that payment may not be made under this subchapter with respect to the services.
(B)
It is clear and obvious that the provider should have known at the time the services were furnished that they were excluded from coverage.
(3)
The requirements of this paragraph are as follows:
(A)
The agency complies with requirements of the Secretary under this subchapter respecting timely submittal of bills for payment and medical documentation.
(B)
The agency program has reasonable procedures to notify promptly each patient (and the patient’s physician) where it is determined that a patient is being or will be furnished items or services which are excluded from coverage under this subchapter.
(4)
(A)
The requirement of this paragraph is that, on the basis of bills submitted by a home health agency during the previous quarter, the rate of denial of bills for the agency by reason of a coverage denial described in subsection (g) does not exceed 2.5 percent, computed based on visits for home health services billed.
(B)
For purposes of determining the rate of denial of bills for a home health agency under subparagraph (A), a bill shall not be considered to be denied until the expiration of the 60-day period that begins on the date such bill is denied by the fiscal intermediary, or, with respect to such a denial for which the agency requests reconsideration, until the fiscal intermediary issues a decision denying payment for such bill.
(5)
In this subsection, the term “fiscal intermediary” means, with respect to a home health agency, an agency or organization with an agreement under
section 1395h of this title with respect to the agency.
(6)
The Secretary shall monitor the proportion of denied bills submitted by home health agencies for which reconsideration is requested, and shall notify Congress if the proportion of denials reversed upon reconsideration increases significantly.
([Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531], title XVIII, § 1879, as added [Pub. L. 92–603, title II, § 213(a)], Oct. 30, 1972, [86 Stat. 1384]; amended [Pub. L. 96–499, title IX, § 956(a)], Dec. 5, 1980, [94 Stat. 2648]; [Pub. L. 97–248, title I], §§ 145, 148(e), Sept. 3, 1982, [96 Stat. 393], 394; [Pub. L. 99–509, title IX], §§ 9305(g)(1), 9341(a)(3), Oct. 21, 1986, [100 Stat. 1991], 2038; [Pub. L. 100–203, title IV, § 4096(b)], Dec. 22, 1987, [101 Stat. 1330–139]; [Pub. L. 101–239, title VI, § 6214(a)], (b), Dec. 19, 1989, [103 Stat. 2252]; [Pub. L. 103–432, title I, § 133(b)], Oct. 31, 1994, [108 Stat. 4421]; [Pub. L. 105–33, title IV, § 4447], Aug. 5, 1997, [111 Stat. 424]; [Pub. L. 112–40, title II, § 261(a)(3)(A)], (B), Oct. 21, 2011, [125 Stat. 423]; [Pub. L. 113–185, § 3(b)], Oct. 6, 2014, [128 Stat. 1969].)