§ 1395mm. Payments to health maintenance organizations and competitive medical plans

§ 1395mm. Payments to health maintenance organizations and competitive medical plans

(a) Rates and adjustments

(1)

(A) The Secretary shall annually determine, and shall announce (in a manner intended to provide notice to interested parties) not later than September 7 before the calendar year concerned—

For purposes of this section, the term “risk-sharing contract” means a contract entered into under subsection (g) and the term “reasonable cost reimbursement contract” means a contract entered into under subsection (h).

(i) a per capita rate of payment for each class of individuals who are enrolled under this section with an eligible organization which has entered into a risk-sharing contract and who are entitled to benefits under part A and enrolled under part B, and

(ii) a per capita rate of payment for each class of individuals who are so enrolled with such an organization and who are enrolled under part B only.

(B) The Secretary shall define appropriate classes of members, based on age, disability status, and such other factors as the Secretary determines to be appropriate, so as to ensure actuarial equivalence. The Secretary may add to, modify, or substitute for such classes, if such changes will improve the determination of actuarial equivalence.

(C) The annual per capita rate of payment for each such class shall be equal to 95 percent of the adjusted average per capita cost (as defined in paragraph (4)) for that class.

(D) In the case of an eligible organization with a risk-sharing contract, the Secretary shall make monthly payments in advance and in accordance with the rate determined under subparagraph (C) and except as provided in subsection (g)(2), to the organization for each individual enrolled with the organization under this section.

(E)

(i) The amount of payment under this paragraph may be retroactively adjusted to take into account any difference between the actual number of individuals enrolled in the plan under this section and the number of such individuals estimated to be so enrolled in determining the amount of the advance payment.

(ii)

(I) Subject to subclause (II), the Secretary may make retroactive adjustments under clause (i) to take into account individuals enrolled during the period beginning on the date on which the individual enrolls with an eligible organization (which has a risk-sharing contract under this section) under a health benefit plan operated, sponsored, or contributed to by the individual’s employer or former employer (or the employer or former employer of the individual’s spouse) and ending on the date on which the individual is enrolled in the plan under this section, except that for purposes of making such retroactive adjustments under this clause, such period may not exceed 90 days.

(II) No adjustment may be made under subclause (I) with respect to any individual who does not certify that the organization provided the individual with the explanation described in subsection (c)(3)(E) at the time the individual enrolled with the organization.

(F)

(i) At least 45 days before making the announcement under subparagraph (A) for a year (beginning with the announcement for 1991), the Secretary shall provide for notice to eligible organizations of proposed changes to be made in the methodology or benefit coverage assumptions from the methodology and assumptions used in the previous announcement and shall provide such organizations an opportunity to comment on such proposed changes.

(ii) In each announcement made under subparagraph (A) for a year (beginning with the announcement for 1991), the Secretary shall include an explanation of the assumptions (including any benefit coverage assumptions) and changes in methodology used in the announcement in sufficient detail so that eligible organizations can compute per capita rates of payment for classes of individuals located in each county (or equivalent area) which is in whole or in part within the service area of such an organization.

(2) With respect to any eligible organization which has entered into a reasonable cost reimbursement contract, payments shall be made to such plan in accordance with subsection (h)(2) rather than paragraph (1).

(3) Subject to subsections (c)(2)(B)(ii) and (c)(7), payments under a contract to an eligible organization under paragraph (1) or (2) shall be instead of the amounts which (in the absence of the contract) would be otherwise payable, pursuant to sections 1395f(b) and 1395l(a) of this title, for services furnished by or through the organization to individuals enrolled with the organization under this section.

(4) For purposes of this section, the term “adjusted average per capita cost” means the average per capita amount that the Secretary estimates in advance (on the basis of actual experience, or retrospective actuarial equivalent based upon an adequate sample and other information and data, in a geographic area served by an eligible organization or in a similar area, with appropriate adjustments to assure actuarial equivalence) would be payable in any contract year for services covered under parts A and B, or part B only, and types of expenses otherwise reimbursable under parts A and B, or part B only (including administrative costs incurred by organizations described in sections 1395h and 1395u of this title), if the services were to be furnished by other than an eligible organization or, in the case of services covered only under section 1395x(s)(2)(H) of this title, if the services were to be furnished by a physician or as an incident to a physician’s service.

(5) The payment to an eligible organization under this section for individuals enrolled under this section with the organization and entitled to benefits under part A and enrolled under part B shall be made from the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund. The portion of that payment to the organization for a month to be paid by each trust fund shall be determined as follows:

The remainder of that payment shall be paid by the former trust fund.

(A) In regard to expenditures by eligible organizations having risk-sharing contracts, the allocation shall be determined each year by the Secretary based on the relative weight that benefits from each fund contribute to the adjusted average per capita cost.

(B) In regard to expenditures by eligible organizations operating under a reasonable cost reimbursement contract, the initial allocation shall be based on the plan’s most recent budget, such allocation to be adjusted, as needed, after cost settlement to reflect the distribution of actual expenditures.

(6) Subject to subsections (c)(2)(B)(ii) and (c)(7), if an individual is enrolled under this section with an eligible organization having a risk-sharing contract, only the eligible organization shall be entitled to receive payments from the Secretary under this subchapter for services furnished to the individual.

(b) Definitions; requirements For purposes of this section, the term “eligible organization” means a public or private entity (which may be a health maintenance organization or a competitive medical plan), organized under the laws of any State, which—

Paragraph (2)(A)(ii) shall not apply to an entity which had contracted with a single State agency administering a State plan approved under subchapter XIX for the provision of services (other than inpatient hospital services) to individuals eligible for such services under such State plan on a prepaid risk basis prior to 1970.

(1) is a qualified health maintenance organization (as defined in section 300e–9(d) 11 See References in Text note below. of this title), or

(2) meets the following requirements:

(A) The entity provides to enrolled members at least the following health care services:

(i) Physicians’ services performed by physicians (as defined in section 1395x(r)(1) of this title).

(ii) Inpatient hospital services.

(iii) Laboratory, X-ray, emergency, and preventive services.

(iv) Out-of-area coverage.

(B) The entity is compensated (except for deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments) for the provision of health care services to enrolled members by a payment which is paid on a periodic basis without regard to the date the health care services are provided and which is fixed without regard to the frequency, extent, or kind of health care service actually provided to a member.

(C) The entity provides physicians’ services primarily (i) directly through physicians who are either employees or partners of such organization, or (ii) through contracts with individual physicians or one or more groups of physicians (organized on a group practice or individual practice basis).

(D) The entity assumes full financial risk on a prospective basis for the provision of the health care services listed in subparagraph (A), except that such entity may—

(i) obtain insurance or make other arrangements for the cost of providing to any enrolled member health care services listed in subparagraph (A) the aggregate value of which exceeds $5,000 in any year,

(ii) obtain insurance or make other arrangements for the cost of health care service listed in subparagraph (A) provided to its enrolled members other than through the entity because medical necessity required their provision before they could be secured through the entity,

(iii) obtain insurance or make other arrangements for not more than 90 percent of the amount by which its costs for any of its fiscal years exceed 115 percent of its income for such fiscal year, and

(iv) make arrangements with physicians or other health professionals, health care institutions, or any combination of such individuals or institutions to assume all or part of the financial risk on a prospective basis for the provision of basic health services by the physicians or other health professionals or through the institutions.

(E) The entity has made adequate provision against the risk of insolvency, which provision is satisfactory to the Secretary.

(c) Enrollment in plan; duties of organization to enrollees

(1) The Secretary may not enter into a contract under this section with an eligible organization unless it meets the requirements of this subsection and subsection (e) with respect to members enrolled under this section.

(2)

(A) The organization must provide to members enrolled under this section, through providers and other persons that meet the applicable requirements of this subchapter and part A of subchapter XI—

which are available to individuals residing in the geographic area served by the organization, except that (I) the organization may provide such members with such additional health care services as the members may elect, at their option, to have covered, and (II) in the case of an organization with a risk-sharing contract, the organization may provide such members with such additional health care services as the Secretary may approve. The Secretary shall approve any such additional health care services which the organization proposes to offer to such members, unless the Secretary determines that including such additional services will substantially discourage enrollment by covered individuals with the organization.

(i) only those services covered under parts A and B of this subchapter, for those members entitled to benefits under part A and enrolled under part B, or

(ii) only those services covered under part B, for those members enrolled only under such part,

(B) If there is a national coverage determination made in the period beginning on the date of an announcement under subsection (a)(1)(A) and ending on the date of the next announcement under such subsection that the Secretary projects will result in a significant change in the costs to the organization of providing the benefits that are the subject of such national coverage determination and that was not incorporated in the determination of the per capita rate of payment included in the announcement made at the beginning of such period—

unless otherwise required by law.

(i) such determination shall not apply to risk-sharing contracts under this section until the first contract year that begins after the end of such period; and

(ii) if such coverage determination provides for coverage of additional benefits or under additional circumstances, subsection (a)(3) shall not apply to payment for such additional benefits or benefits provided under such additional circumstances until the first contract year that begins after the end of such period,

(3)

(A)

(i) Each eligible organization must have an open enrollment period, for the enrollment of individuals under this section, of at least 30 days duration every year and including the period or periods specified under clause (ii), and must provide that at any time during which enrollments are accepted, the organization will accept up to the limits of its capacity (as determined by the Secretary) and without restrictions, except as may be authorized in regulations, individuals who are eligible to enroll under subsection (d) in the order in which they apply for enrollment, unless to do so would result in failure to meet the requirements of subsection (f) or would result in the enrollment of enrollees substantially nonrepresentative, as determined in accordance with regulations of the Secretary, of the population in the geographic area served by the organization.

(ii)

(I) If a risk-sharing contract under this section is not renewed or is otherwise terminated, eligible organizations with risk-sharing contracts under this section and serving a part of the same service area as under the terminated contract are required to have an open enrollment period for individuals who were enrolled under the terminated contract as of the date of notice of such termination. If a risk-sharing contract under this section is renewed in a manner that discontinues coverage for individuals residing in part of the service area, eligible organizations with risk-sharing contracts under this section and enrolling individuals residing in that part of the service area are required to have an open enrollment period for individuals residing in the part of the service area who were enrolled under the contract as of the date of notice of such discontinued coverage.

(II) The open enrollment periods required under subclause (I) shall be for 30 days and shall begin 30 days after the date that the Secretary provides notice of such requirement.

(III) Enrollment under this clause shall be effective 30 days after the end of the open enrollment period, or, if the Secretary determines that such date is not feasible, such other date as the Secretary specifies.

(B) An individual may enroll under this section with an eligible organization in such manner as may be prescribed in regulations and may terminate his enrollment with the eligible organization as of the beginning of the first calendar month following the date on which the request is made for such termination (or, in the case of financial insolvency of the organization, as may be prescribed by regulations) or, in the case of such an organization with a reasonable cost reimbursement contract, as may be prescribed by regulations. In the case of an individual’s termination of enrollment, the organization shall provide the individual with a copy of the written request for termination of enrollment and a written explanation of the period (ending on the effective date of the termination) during which the individual continues to be enrolled with the organization and may not receive benefits under this subchapter other than through the organization.

(C) The Secretary may prescribe the procedures and conditions under which an eligible organization that has entered into a contract with the Secretary under this subsection may inform individuals eligible to enroll under this section with the organization about the organization, or may enroll such individuals with the organization. No brochures, application forms, or other promotional or informational material may be distributed by an organization to (or for the use of) individuals eligible to enroll with the organization under this section unless (i) at least 45 days before its distribution, the organization has submitted the material to the Secretary for review and (ii) the Secretary has not disapproved the distribution of the material. The Secretary shall review all such material submitted and shall disapprove such material if the Secretary determines, in the Secretary’s discretion, that the material is materially inaccurate or misleading or otherwise makes a material misrepresentation.

(D) The organization must provide assurances to the Secretary that it will not expel or refuse to re-enroll any such individual because of the individual’s health status or requirements for health care services, and that it will notify each such individual of such fact at the time of the individual’s enrollment.

(E) Each eligible organization shall provide each enrollee, at the time of enrollment and not less frequently than annually thereafter, an explanation of the enrollee’s rights under this section, including an explanation of—

(i) the enrollee’s rights to benefits from the organization,

(ii) the restrictions on payments under this subchapter for services furnished other than by or through the organization,

(iii) out-of-area coverage provided by the organization,

(iv) the organization’s coverage of emergency services and urgently needed care, and

(v) appeal rights of enrollees.

(F) Each eligible organization that provides items and services pursuant to a contract under this section shall provide assurances to the Secretary that in the event the organization ceases to provide such items and services, the organization shall provide or arrange for supplemental coverage of benefits under this subchapter related to a pre-existing condition with respect to any exclusion period, to all individuals enrolled with the entity who receive benefits under this subchapter, for the lesser of six months or the duration of such period.

(G)

(i) Each eligible organization having a risk-sharing contract under this section shall notify individuals eligible to enroll with the organization under this section and individuals enrolled with the organization under this section that—

(I) the organization is authorized by law to terminate or refuse to renew the contract, and

(II) termination or nonrenewal of the contract may result in termination of the enrollments of individuals enrolled with the organization under this section.

(ii) The notice required by clause (i) shall be included in—

(I) any marketing materials described in subparagraph (C) that are distributed by an eligible organization to individuals eligible to enroll under this section with the organization, and

(II) any explanation provided to enrollees by the organization pursuant to subparagraph (E).

(4) The organization must—

(A) make the services described in paragraph (2) (and such other health care services as such individuals have contracted for) (i) available and accessible to each such individual, within the area served by the organization, with reasonable promptness and in a manner which assures continuity, and (ii) when medically necessary, available and accessible twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week, and