Tennessee § 56-7-3302 - Clear identification of material changes to provider manual.

§ 56-7-3302. Clear identification of material changes to provider manual.

A health insurance entity shall provide notice to a healthcare provider of any material change made in the sole discretion of the insurance entity to the entity's previously released provider manual or a reimbursement rule and policy at least sixty (60) days prior to the effective date of the change, and the health insurance entity shall ensure that any such material change is clearly identified in the following manner: Disclosing or identifying the change in the provider manual through the use of bold print or a font, or both, with the bold print or font being the same or larger size as the font generally used throughout the policy or manual; and Disclosing or identifying the change in the reimbursement rules and policies and the effective date of the change through the use of a separately categorized communication to the provider. Any disclosures required under this subsection (a) may be distributed by either: An internet web-accessible section associated with a web-accessible current version of the provider manual or reimbursement rules and policies; or Written communication sent to a dedicated email address or as stipulated in the contract between the provider and the health insurance entity. The provider shall submit to the health insurance entity a dedicated email address to receive the disclosures required by this subsection (a). Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, nothing in this part shall apply to the TennCare program or any successor Medicaid program provided for in title 71, chapter 5; the CoverKids Act of 2006, compiled in title 71, chapter 3, part 11; the Access Tennessee Act of 2006, compiled in part 29 of this chapter; any other plan managed by the health care finance administration division of the department of finance and administration or any successor division or department; or the group insurance plans offered under title 8, chapter 27; or a contract between a healthcare provider and the state or federal government or their agencies for health services provided through Medicare. Acts 2009, ch. 334, § 3; 2017, ch. 88, § 1. Compiler's Notes. Act 2017, ch. 88, § 5 provided that the act, which amended this section, shall apply to all contracts existing on January 1, 2019, and to all contracts entered into or renewed after January 1, 2019. Amendments. The 2017 amendment, effective January 1, 2019, rewrote the section which read: “A health insurance entity shall ensure that any material change to the entity's previously-released provider manual shall be clearly identified in the following manner:“(1) Disclosing or identifying the change through the use of bold print or a font, or both, the bold print and a font being the same or larger size as the font generally used throughout the provider manual; an“(2) Disclosing or identifying the change through the use of a separately categorized communication associated with quarterly or annual updates to the provider manual and distributed via:“(A) Compact discs or other downloadable electronic media;“(B) An Internet web-accessible section associated with a web-accessible current version of the provider manual; or“(C) Written communication mailed directly to providers.” Effective Dates. Acts 2017, ch. 88, § 5. January 1, 2019.