A provider group purchased from an insurer individual stop-loss coverage for primary and specialty care services with an $8,000 attachment point and 10% coinsurance. If the group's accrued cost for the primary and specialty care treatment of one patient is $10,000, then the amount that the insurer would be responsible for reimbursing the provider group for these costs is:
Some jurisdictions have enacted corporate practice of medicine laws. One effect that corporate practice of medicine laws have had on HMO provider networks is that these laws typically
The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 (OBRA 1986) established the Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). One characteristic of the PACE programs is that:
The following situations illustrate violations of federal antitrust laws:
Situation A Two HMOs split a large employer group by agreeing to let one HMO market to some company employees and to let the second HMO market to different company employees.
Situation B Members of a physician-hospital organization (PHO) that has significant market share jointly agreed to exclude a physician from joining the PHO solely because that physician has admitting privileges at a competing hospital.
From the following answer choices, select the response that best identifies the types of violations illustrated by these situations:
The following statements describe two types of HMOs:
The Elm HMO requires its members to select a PCP but allows the members to go to any other provider on its panel without a referral from the PCP.
The Treble HMO does not require its members to select a PCP. Treble allows its members to go to any doctor, healthcare professional, or facility that is on its panel without a referral from a primary care doctor. However, care outside of Treble's network is not reimbursed unless the provider obtains advance approval from the HMO.
Both HMOs use delegation to transfer certain functions to other organizations. Following the guidelines established by the NCQA, Elm delegated its credentialing activities to the Newnan Group, and the agreement between Elm and Newnan lists the responsibilities of both parties under the agreement. Treble delegated utilization management (UM) to an IPA. The IPA then transferred the authority for case management to the Quest Group, an organization that specializes in case management.
Both HMOs also offer pharmacy benefits. Elm calculates its drug costs according to a pricing system that requires establishing a purchasing profile for each pharmacy and basing reimbursement on the profile. Treble and the Manor Pharmaceutical Group have an arrangement that requires the use of a typical maximum allowable cost (MAC) pricing system to calculate generic drug costs under Treble's pharmacy program. The following statements describe generic drugs prescribed for Treble plan members who are covered by Treble's pharmacy benefits:
The MAC list for Drug A specifies a cost of 12 cents per tablet, but Manor pays 14 cents per tablet for this drug.
The MAC list for Drug B specifies a cost of 7 cents per tablet, but Manor pays 5 cents per tablet for this drug.
The following statements can correctly be made about the reimbursement for Drugs A and B under the MAC pricing system:
The provider contract that the Canyon health plan has with Dr. Nicole Enberg specifies that she cannot sue or file any claims against a Canyon plan member for covered services, even if Canyon becomes insolvent or fails to meet its financial obligations. The contract also specifies that Canyon will compensate her under a typical discounted fee-for-service (DFFS) payment system.
During its recredentialing of Dr. Enberg, Canyon developed a report that helped the health plan determine how well she met Canyon's standards. The report included cumulative performance data for Dr. Enberg and encompassed all measurable aspects of her performance. This report included such information as the number of hospital admissions Dr. Enberg had and the number of referrals she made outside of Canyon's provider network during a specified period. Canyon also used process measures, structural measures, and outcomes measures to evaluate Dr. Enberg's performance.
Canyon used a process measure to evaluate the performance of Dr. Enberg when it evaluated whether:
One true statement about the compensation arrangement known as the case rate system is that, under this system,
With respect to hiring practices, one step that a health plan most likely can take to avoid violating the terms of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is to
Most health plan contracts provide an outline of the criteria that a healthcare service must meet in order to be considered “medically necessary.†Typically, in order for a healthcare service to be considered medically necessary, the service provided by a physician or other healthcare provider to identify and treat a member’s illness or injury must be
Health plans use a variety of sources to find candidates to recruit for their provider networks. In general, two of the most effective methods of finding candidates are through
The Ross Health Plan compensates Dr. Cecile Sanderson on a FFS basis. In order to increase the level of reimbursement that she would receive from Ross, Dr. Sanderson submitted the code for a comprehensive office visit. The services she actually provided represented an intermediate level of service. Dr. Sanderson’s action is an example of a type of false billing procedure known as
The Walton Health Plan uses the fee-for-service pharmaceutical reimbursement approach known as the maximum allowable cost (MAC) method. If Walton’s MAC list specifies a cost of 8 cents per tablet for a particular drug but the participating pharmacy pays 10 cents per tablet for the drug, then Walton will be obligated to reimburse the pharmacy for
The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has integrated accreditation with Health Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS) measures into a program called Accreditation ’99. One statement that can correctly be made about these accreditation standards is that
In the paragraph below, two statements each contain a pair of terms enclosed in parentheses. Determine which term correctly completes each statement. Then select the answer choice that contains the two terms you have chosen.
In most states, a health plan can be held responsible for a provider’s negligent malpractice. This legal concept is known as (vicarious liability / risk sharing). One step that health plans can take to reduce their exposure to malpractice lawsuits is to state in health plan-provider agreements, marketing collateral, and membership literature that the providers are (employees of the health plan / independent contractors).
The Gladspell HMO has contracted with the Ellysium Hospital to provide subacute care to its plan members. Gladspell pays Ellysium by using a per diem reimbursement method.
The per diem reimbursement method will require Gladspell to pay Ellysium a
Many health plans opt to carve out behavioral healthcare (BH) services. However, one argument against carving out BH services is that this action most likely can result in
The actual number of providers included in a provider network may be based on staffing ratios. Staffing ratios relate the number of
Some states have enacted any willing provider laws. From the perspective of the health plan industry, one drawback of any willing provider laws is that they often result in a reduction of a plan’s
Federal laws—including the Ethics in Patient Referrals Act, the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) Act of 1973, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), and the Federal Trade Commission Act—have impacted the ways that health plans conduct business. For instance, the Mosaic Health Plan must comply with the following federal laws in order to operate:
Regulation 1: Mosaic must establish a mandated grievance resolution mechanism, including a method for members to address grievances with network providers.
Regulation 2: Mosaic must not allow its providers to refer Medicare and Medicaid patients to entities in which they have a financial or ownership interest.
From the answer choices below, select the response that correctly identifies the federal legislation on which Regulation 1 and Regulation 2 are based.
When evaluating the success of providers in meeting standards, a health plan must make adjustments for case mix or severity. One true statement about case mix/severity adjustments is that they:
One true statement about the Medicaid program in the United States is that:
Dr. Ahmad Shah and Dr. Shantelle Owen provide primary care services to Medicare+Choice enrollees of health plans under the following physician incentive plans:
Dr. Shah receives $40 per enrollee per month for providing primary care and an additional $10 per enrollee per month if the cost of referral services falls below a specified level
Dr. Owen receives $30 per enrollee per month for providing primary care and an additional $15 per enrollee per month if the cost of referral services falls below a specified level
The use of a physician incentive plan creates substantial risk for
The following statements are about network management for behavioral healthcare (BH). Three of these statements are true and one statement is false. Select the answer choice containing the FALSE statement.
Dr. Sarah Carmichael is one of several network providers who serve on one of the Apex Health Plan’s organizational committees. The committee reviews cases against providers identified through complaints and grievances or through clinical monitoring activities. If needed, the committee formulates, approves, and monitors corrective action plans for providers. Although Apex administrators and other employees also serve on the committee, only participating providers have voting rights. The committee that Dr. Carmichael serves on is a
As part of the credentialing process, many health plans use the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) to learn information about prospective members of a provider network. One true statement about the NPDB is that:
The Pine Health Plan has incorporated pharmacy benefits management into its operations to form a unified benefit. Potential advantages that Pine can receive from this action include:
The following statement(s) can correctly be made about the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) of 1997: