Louisiana Revised Statutes 22:2444 – Funding of external review
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 22:2444
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- Commissioner: means the commissioner of insurance. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 22:2392
- Covered person: means a policyholder, subscriber, enrollee, or other individual participating in a health benefit plan. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 22:2392
- Health insurance issuer: means an entity subject to the insurance laws and regulations of this state, or subject to the jurisdiction of the commissioner, that contracts or offers to contract to provide, deliver, arrange for, pay for, or reimburse any of the costs of health care services, including through a health benefit plan as defined in this Section, and shall include a sickness and accident insurance company, a health maintenance organization, a preferred provider organization or any similar entity, or any other entity providing a plan of health insurance or health benefits. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 22:2392
- Independent review organization: means an entity that conducts independent external reviews of adverse determinations and final adverse determinations. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 22:2392
A. The health insurance issuer against which a request for a standard external review or an expedited external review is filed shall pay the cost of the independent review organization for conducting the external review, and no fee or other charge may be levied upon a covered person for any costs of an external review.
B.(1) The amount charged by the independent review organization as the cost to be paid by the health insurance issuer shall be a reasonable amount for the actual review performed. The independent review organization shall provide adequate documentation to the health insurance issuer justifying the amount charged.
(2) A health insurance issuer that believes that the amount charged for a review by an independent review organization is not reasonable may appeal those charges to the commissioner. In conducting the appeal, the commissioner shall review the amount charged, make a determination regarding the reasonableness of the amount charged, and, if warranted, may order an appropriate reduction. The commissioner may request additional information from the independent review organization, the health insurance issuer, or other independent review organizations or healthcare providers in making his determination.
Acts 2013, No. 326, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2015; Acts 2017, No. 35, §1.