Washington § 48.200.260 - Preliminary audit report — Dispute or denial of claim — Final audit report — Recoupment of disputed funds.

(1)(a) After conducting an audit, an entity must provide the pharmacy that is the subject of the audit with a preliminary report of the audit. The preliminary report must be received by the pharmacy no later than forty-five days after the date on which the audit was completed and must be sent:

(i) By mail or common carrier with a return receipt requested; or

(ii) Electronically with electronic receipt confirmation.

(b) An entity shall provide a pharmacy receiving a preliminary report under this subsection no fewer than forty-five days after receiving the report to contest the report or any findings in the report in accordance with the appeals procedure established under RCW 48.200.220(1) and must allow the submission of additional documentation in support of the claim. The entity shall consider a reasonable request for an extension of time to submit documentation to contest the report or any findings in the report.

(2) If an audit results in the dispute or denial of a claim, the entity conducting the audit shall allow the pharmacy to resubmit the claim using any commercially reasonable method, including facsimile, mail, or email.

(3) An entity must provide a pharmacy that is the subject of an audit with a final report of the audit no later than sixty days after the later of the date the preliminary report was received or the date the pharmacy contested the report using the appeals procedure established under RCW 48.200.220(1). The final report must include a final accounting of all moneys to be recovered by the entity.

(4) Recoupment of disputed funds from a pharmacy by an entity or repayment of funds to an entity by a pharmacy, unless otherwise agreed to by the entity and the pharmacy, shall occur after the audit and the appeals procedure established under RCW 48.200.220(1) are final. If the identified discrepancy for an individual audit exceeds forty thousand dollars, any future payments to the pharmacy may be withheld by the entity until the audit and the appeals procedure established under RCW 48.200.220(1) are final.