Ohio § 1751.72

§ 1751.72.

(A) As used in this section: (1) “ Chronic condition ” means a medical condition that has persisted after reasonable efforts have been

made to relieve or cure its cause and has continued, either continuously or episodically,

for longer than six continuous months. (2) “ Clinical peer ” means a health care practitioner in the same, or in a similar, specialty that typically

manages the medical condition, procedure, or treatment under review. (3) “ Covered person ” means a person receiving coverage for health services under a policy, contract,

or agreement issued by a health insuring corporation. (4) “Emergency services” has the same meaning as in section 1753.28 of the Revised Code . (5) “ Fraudulent or materially incorrect information ” means any type of intentional deception or misrepresentation made by a person with

the knowledge that the deception could result in some unauthorized benefit to the

covered person in question. (6) “Health care practitioner” has the same meaning as in section 3701.74 of the Revised Code . (7) “ NCPDP SCRIPT standard ” means the national council for prescription drug programs SCRIPT standard version

201310 or the most recent standard adopted by the the 1 United States department of health and human services. (8) “ Prior authorization requirement ” means any practice implemented by a health insuring corporation in which coverage

of a health care service, device, or drug is dependent upon a covered person or a

health care practitioner obtaining approval from the health insuring corporation prior

to the service, device, or drug being performed, received, or prescribed, as applicable.  “ Prior authorization ” includes prospective or utilization review procedures conducted prior to providing

a health care service, device, or drug. (9) “ Urgent care services ” means a medical care or other service for a condition where application of the timeframe

for making routine or non-life threatening care determinations is either of the following: (a) Could seriously jeopardize the life, health, or safety of the patient or others due

to the patient's psychological state; (b) In the opinion of a practitioner with knowledge of the patient's medical or behavioral

condition, would subject the patient to adverse health consequences without the care

or treatment that is the subject of the request. (10) “Utilization review” and “utilization review organization” have the same meanings

as in section 1751.77 of the Revised Code . (B) If a policy, contract, or agreement issued by a health insuring corporation contains

a prior authorization requirement, then all of the following apply: (1) On or before January 1, 2018, the health insuring corporation shall permit health

care practitioners to access the prior authorization form through the applicable electronic

software system. (2)(a) For policies issued on or after January 1, 2018, the health insuring corporation

or other payer acting on behalf of the health insuring corporation, shall accept prior

authorization requests through a secure electronic transmission. (b) For policies issued on or after January 1, 2018, the health insuring corporation,

a pharmacy benefit manager responsible for handling prior authorization requests,

or other payer acting on behalf of the health insuring corporation shall accept and

respond to prior prescription benefit authorization requests through a secure electronic

transmission using NCPDP SCRIPT standard ePA transactions, and for prior medical benefit

authorization requests through a secure electronic transmission using standards established

by the council for affordable quality health care on operating rules for information

exchange or its successor. (c) For purposes of division (B)(2) of this section, neither of the following shall be

considered a secure electronic transmission: (i) A facsimile; (ii) A proprietary payer portal for prescription drug requests that does not use NCPDP

SCRIPT standard. (3) For policies issued on or after January 1, 2018, a health care practitioner and health

insuring corporation may enter into a contractual arrangement under which the health

insuring corporation agrees to process prior authorization requests that are not submitted

electronically because of the financial hardship that electronic submission of prior

authorization requests would create for the health care practitioner or if internet

connectivity is limited or unavailable where the health care practitioner is located. (4)(a) For policies issued on or after January 1, 2018, if the health care practitioner

submits the request for prior authorization as described in divisions (B)(1) and (2)

of this section, the health insuring corporation shall respond to all prior authorization

requests within forty-eight hours for urgent care services, or ten calendar days for

any prior authorization request that is not for an urgent care service, of the time

the request is received by the health insuring corporation.  Division (B)(4) of this section does not apply to emergency services. (b) The response required under division (B)(4)(a) of this section shall indicate whether

the request is approved or denied.  If the prior authorization is denied, the health insuring corporation shall provide

the specific reason for the denial. (c) If the prior authorization request is incomplete, the health insuring corporation

shall indicate the specific additional information that is required to process the

request. (5)(a) For policies issued on or after January 1, 2018, if a health care practitioner submits

a prior authorization request as described in divisions (B)(1) and (2) of this section,

the health insuring corporation shall provide an electronic receipt to the health

care practitioner acknowledging that the prior authorization request was received. (b) For policies issued on or after January 1, 2018, if a health insuring corporation

requests additional information that is required to process a prior authorization

request as described in division (B)(4)(c) of this section, the health care practitioner

shall provide an electronic receipt to the health insuring corporation acknowledging

that the request for additional information was received. (6)(a) For policies issued on or after January 1, 2017, for a prior approval related to

a chronic condition, the health insuring corporation shall honor a prior authorization

approval for an approved drug for the lesser of the following from the date of the

approval: (i) Twelve months; (ii) The last day of the covered person's eligibility under the policy, contract, or agreement. (b) The duration of all other prior authorization approvals shall be dictated by the

policy, contract, or agreement issued by the health insuring corporation. (c) A health insuring corporation may, in relation to a prior approval under division

(B)(6)(a) of this section, require a health care practitioner to submit information

to the health insuring corporation indicating that the patient's chronic condition

has not changed. (i) The request for information by the health insuring corporation and the response by

the health care practitioner shall be in an electronic format, which may be by electronic

mail or other electronic communication. (ii) The frequency of the submission of requested information shall be consistent with

medical or scientific evidence as defined in section 3922.01 of the Revised Code , but shall not be required more frequently than quarterly. (iii) If the health care practitioner does not respond within five calendar days from the

date the request was received, the health insuring corporation may terminate the twelve-month

approval. (d) A twelve-month approval provided under division (B)(6)(a) of this section is no longer

valid and automatically terminates if there are changes to federal or state laws or

federal regulatory guidance or compliance information prescribing that the drug in

question is no longer approved or safe for the intended purpose. (e) A twelve-month approval provided under division (B)(6)(a) of this section does not

apply to and is not required for any of the following: (i) Medications that are prescribed for a non-maintenance condition; (ii) Medications that have a typical treatment of less than one year; (iii) Medications that require an initial trial period to determine effectiveness and tolerability,

beyond which a one-year, or greater, prior authorization period will be given; (iv) Medications where there is medical or scientific evidence as defined in section 3922.01 of the Revised Code that do not support a twelve-month prior approval; (v) Medications that are a schedule I or II controlled substance or any opioid analgesic

or benzodiazepine, as defined in section 3719.01 of the Revised Code ; (vi) Medications that are not prescribed by an in-network provider as part of a care management

program. (7) For policies issued on or after January 1, 2017, a health insuring corporation may,

but is not required to, provide the twelve-month approval prescribed in division (B)(6)(a)

of this section for a prescription drug that meets either of the following: (a) The drug is prescribed or administered to treat a rare medical condition and pursuant

to medical or scientific evidence as defined in section 3922.01 of the Revised Code . (b) Medications that are controlled substances not included in division (B)(6)(e)(v)

of this section. For purposes of division (B)(7) of this section, “ rare medical condition ” means any disease or condition that affects fewer than two hundred thousand individuals

in the United States. (8) Nothing in division (B)(6) or (7) of this section prohibits the substitution, in

accordance with section 4729.38 of the Revised Code , of any drug that has received a twelve-month approval under division (B)(6)(a) of

this section when there is a release of either of the following: (a) A United States food and drug administration approved comparable brand product or

a generic counterpart of a brand product that is listed as therapeutically equivalent

in the United States food and drug administration's publication titled approved drug

products with therapeutic equivalence evaluations; (b) An interchangeable biological product, as defined in section 3715.01 of the Revised Code . (9)(a) For policies issued on or after January 1, 2017, upon written request, a health insuring

corporation shall permit a retrospective review for a claim that is submitted for

a service where prior authorization was required but not obtained if the service in

question meets all of the following: (i) The service is directly related to another service for which prior approval has already

been obtained and that has already been performed. (ii) The new service was not known to be needed at the time the original prior authorized

service was performed. (iii) The need for the new service was revealed at the time the original authorized service

was performed. (b) Once the written request and all necessary information is received, the health insuring

corporation shall review the claim for coverage and medical necessity.  The health insuring corporation shall not deny a claim for such a new service based

solely on the fact that a prior authorization approval was not received for the new

service in question. (10)(a) For policies issued on or after January 1, 2017, the health insuring corporation

shall disclose to all participating health care practitioners any new prior authorization

requirement at least thirty days prior to the effective date of the new requirement. (b) The notice may be sent via electronic mail or standard mail and shall be conspicuously

entitled “Notice of Changes to Prior Authorization Requirements.” The notice is not required to contain a complete listing of all changes made to the

prior authorization requirements, but shall include specific information on where

the health care practitioner may locate the information on the health insuring corporation's

web site or, if applicable, the health insuring corporation's portal. (c) All participating health care practitioners shall promptly notify the health insuring

corporation of any changes to the health care practitioner's electronic mail or standard

mail address. (11)(a) For policies issued on or after January 1, 2017, the health insuring corporation

shall make available to all participating health care practitioners on its web site

or provider portal a listing of its prior authorization requirements, including specific

information or documentation that a practitioner must submit in order for the prior

authorization request to be considered complete. (b) The health insuring corporation shall make available on its web site information

about the policies, contracts, or agreements offered by the health insuring corporation

that clearly identifies specific services, drugs, or devices to which a prior authorization

requirement exists. (12) For policies issued on or after January 1, 2018, the health insuring corporation

shall establish a streamlined appeal process relating to adverse prior authorization

determinations that shall include all of the following: (a) For urgent care services, the appeal shall be considered within forty-eight hours

after the health insuring corporation receives the appeal. (b) For all other matters, the appeal shall be considered within ten calendar days after

the health insuring corporation receives the appeal. (c) The appeal shall be between the health care practitioner requesting the service in

question and a clinical peer. (d) If the appeal does not resolve the disagreement, either the covered person or an

authorized representative as defined in section 3922.01 of the Revised Code may request an external review under Chapter 3922. of the Revised Code to the extent

Chapter 3922. of the Revised Code is applicable. (C) For policies issued on or after January 1, 2017, except in cases of fraudulent or

materially incorrect information, a health insuring corporation shall not retroactively

deny a prior authorization for a health care service, drug, or device when all of

the following are met: (1) The health care practitioner submits a prior authorization request to the health

insuring corporation for a health care service, drug, or device. (2) The health insuring corporation approves the prior authorization request after determining

that all of the following are true: (a) The patient is eligible under the health benefit plan. (b) The health care service, drug, or device is covered under the patient's health benefit

plan. (c) The health care service, drug, or device meets the health insuring corporation's

standards for medical necessity and prior authorization. (3) The health care practitioner renders the health care service, drug, or device pursuant

to the approved prior authorization request and all of the terms and conditions of

the health care practitioner's contract with the health insuring corporation. (4) On the date the health care practitioner renders the prior approved health care service,

drug, or device, all of the following are true: (a) The patient is eligible under the health benefit plan. (b) The patient's condition or circumstances related to the patient's care has not changed. (c) The health care practitioner submits an accurate claim that matches the information

submitted by the health care practitioner in the approved prior authorization request. (5) If the health care practitioner submits a claim that includes an unintentional error

and the error results in a claim that does not match the information originally submitted

by the health care practitioner in the approved prior authorization request, upon

receiving a denial of services from the health insuring corporation, the health care

practitioner may resubmit the claim pursuant to division (C) of this section with

the information that matches the information included in the approved prior authorization. (D) Any provision of a contractual arrangement entered into between a health insuring

corporation and a health care practitioner or beneficiary that is contrary to divisions

(A) to (C) of this section is unenforceable. (E) For policies issued on or after January 1, 2017, committing a series of violations

of this section that, taken together, constitute a practice or pattern shall be considered

an unfair and deceptive practice under sections 3901.19 to 3901.26 of the Revised Code . (F) The superintendent of insurance may adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of

the Revised Code as necessary to implement the provisions of this section. (G) This section does not apply to any of the following types of coverage:  a policy,

contract, certificate, or agreement that covers only a specified accident, accident

only, credit, dental, disability income, long-term care, hospital indemnity, supplemental

coverage as described in section 3923.37 of the Revised Code , specified disease, or vision care;  a dental benefit that is offered as a part of

a policy, contract, certificate, or agreement offered by a health insuring corporation;

coverage issued as a supplement to liability insurance;  insurance arising out of

workers' compensation or similar law;  automobile medical payment insurance;  insurance

under which benefits are payable with or without regard to fault and which is statutorily

required to be contained in any liability insurance policy or equivalent self-insurance;

 a medicare supplement policy of insurance as defined by the superintendent of insurance

by rule;  coverage under a plan through medicare or the federal employees benefit

program;  or any coverage issued under Chapter 55 of Title 10 of the United States

Code and any coverage issued as a supplement to that coverage. 1

 So in original.