Mo. Code Regs. Ann. tit. 13, § 70-3.030
PURPOSE: This rule establishes the basis on which certain claims for MO HealthNet services or merchandise will be determined to be false or fraudulent and lists the sanctions which may be imposed and the method of imposing those sanctions.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: The secretary of state has determined that the publication of the entire text of the material which is incorporated by reference as a portion of this rule would be unduly cumbersome or expensive. This material as incorporated by reference in this rule shall be maintained by the agency at its headquarters and shall be made available to the public for inspection and copying at no more than the actual cost of reproduction. This note applies only to the reference material. The entire text of the rule is printed here. 13 CSR 70-3
(1) Administration.
ic provider type or service incorporates by reference a MO HealthNet provider manual which contains a later date of incorporation than 13 CSR 70-3.030, the manual incorporated into the more specific rule shall be applied in place of the manual incorporated into 13 CSR 70-3.030.
(2) The following definitions will be used in administering this rule:
(A) “Adequate documentation” means documentation from which services rendered and the amount of reimbursement received by a provider can be readily discerned and verified with reasonable certainty. “Adequate medical records” are records which are of the type and in a form from which symptoms, conditions, diagnosis, treatments, prognosis, and the identity of the patient to which these things relate can be readily discerned and verified with reasonable certainty. All documentation must be made available at the same site at which the service was rendered. An adequate and complete patient record is a record which is legible, which is made contemporaneously with the delivery of the service, which addresses the patient/client specifics, which include, at a minimum, individualized statements that support the assessment or treatment encounter, and shall include documentation of the following information:
middle initial or date of birth of the MO HealthNet participant;
description of each service(s) provided;
HealthNet enrolled provider delivering the service. Inpatient hospital services must have signed and dated physician or psychologist orders within the patient’s medical record for the admission and for services billed to MO HealthNet. For patients registered on hospital records as outpatient, the patient’s medical record must contain signed and dated physician orders for services billed to MO Health- Net. Services provided by an individual under the direction or supervision are not reimbursed by MO HealthNet. Services provided by a person not enrolled with MO HealthNet are not reimbursed by MO Health- Net;
when applicable;
and services that are reimbursed according to the amount of time spent in delivering or rendering a service(s) (except for services American Medical Association Current Procedural Terminology procedure codes 99291–99292 and targeted case management services administered through the Department of Mental Health and as specified under 13 CSR 70-91.010 Personal Care Program (4)(A)) the actual begin and end time taken to deliver the service (for example, 4:00–4:30 p.m.) must be documented;
rendered;
test(s), findings, results, and prescription(s) as necessary. Where a hospital acts as an independent laboratory or independent radiology service for persons considered by the hospital as “nonhospital” patients, the hospital must have a written request or requisition slip ordering the tests or procedures;
tionship to the MO HealthNet participant’s treatment plan;
progress toward the goals stated in the treatment plan (progress notes);
exempt from the seventy-two (72)-hour documentation requirements rules applying to paragraphs (2)(A)9. and (2)(A)10. However, applicable documentation should be contained and available in the entirety of the medical record;
sary to have adequate invoices, trip tickets/reports, activity log sheets, employee records (excluding health records), and training records of staff; and
vices administered through the Department of Mental Health, documentation shall include:
middle initial or date of birth of the MO HealthNet participant;
case note of each service provided;
ing the service;
(month/day/year);
spent completing the activity;
rendered;
son centered plan with regular updates;
cable; and
enced in the case note such as letters, forms, quarterly reports, and plans of care;
(3) Program Violations.
(A) Sanctions may be imposed by the MO HealthNet agency against a provider for any one (1) or more of the following reasons:
ed, for payment any false or fraudulent claim for services or merchandise in the course of business related to MO HealthNet;
ted, false information for the purpose of obtaining greater compensation than that to which the provider is entitled under applicable MO HealthNet program policies or rules, including, but not limited to, the billing or coding of services which results in payments in excess of the fee schedule for the service actually provided or billing or coding of services which results in payments in excess of the provider’s charges to the general public for the same services or billing for higher level of service or increased number of units from those actually ordered or performed or and Procedure of General Applicability
both, or altering or falsifying medical records to obtain or verify a greater payment than authorized by a fee schedule or reimbursement plan;
ted, false information for the purpose of meeting prior authorization requirements or for the purpose of obtaining payments in order to avoid the effect of those changes;
ing to the MO HealthNet agency or its authorized agents, all records relating to services provided to MO HealthNet participants or records relating to MO HealthNet payments, whether or not the records are commingled with non-Title XIX (Medicaid) records. All records must be kept a minimum of five (5) years from the date of service unless a more specific provider regulation applies. The minimum five (5)-year retention of records requirement continues to apply in the event of a change of ownership or discontinuing enrollment in MO HealthNet. Services billed to the MO HealthNet agency that are not adequately documented in the patient’s medical records or for which there is no record that services were performed shall be considered a violation of this section. Copies of records must be provided upon request of the MO HealthNet agency or its authorized agents, regardless of the media in which they are kept. Failure to make these records available on a timely basis at the same site at which the services were rendered or at the provider’s address of record with the MO HealthNet agency, or failure to provide copies as requested, or failure to keep and make available adequate records which adequately document the services and payments shall constitute a violation of this section and shall be a reason for sanction. Failure to send records, which have been requested via mail, within the specified time frame shall constitute a violation of this section and shall be a reason for sanction;
ty, necessary, and appropriate services, including adequate staffing for long-term care facility MO HealthNet participants, within accepted medical community standards as adjudged by a body of peers, as set forth in both federal and state statutes or regulations. Failure shall be documented by repeat discrepancies. The discrepancies may be determined by a peer review committee, medical review teams, independent professional review teams, utilization review committees, or by Professional Standards Review Organizations (PSRO). The medical review may be conducted by qualified peers employed by the single state agency;
act deemed improper or abusive of the MO HealthNet program or continuing the conduct following notification that the conduct should cease. This will include inappropriate or improper actions relating to the management of participants’ personal funds or other funds;
HealthNet provider agreement of any current written and published policies and procedures of the MO HealthNet program (Such policies and procedures are contained in provider manuals or bulletins which are incorporated by reference and made a part of this rule as published by the Department of Social Services, MO HealthNet Division, 615 Howerton Court, Jefferson City, MO 65109, at its website www.dss.mo.gov/mhd, September 15, 2009. This rule does not incorporate any subsequent amendments or additions.) or failing to comply with the terms of the provider certification on the MO HealthNet claim form;
Net program as evidenced by a documented pattern of inducing, furnishing, or otherwise causing a participant to receive services or merchandise not otherwise required or requested by the participant, attending physician, or appropriate utilization review team; a documented pattern of performing and billing tests, examinations, patient visits, surgeries, drugs, or merchandise that exceed limits or frequencies determined by the department for like practitioners for which there is no demonstrable need, or for which the provider has created the need through ineffective services or merchandise previously rendered;
of a fee or charge for a MO HealthNet patient referral; or collecting a portion of the service fee from the participant, except this shall not apply to MO HealthNet services for which participants are responsible for payment of a copayment or coinsurance in accordance with 13 CSR 70-4.050 and 13 CSR 70-4.051;
Medical Assistance Act or any corresponding rule;
application for provider status which misrepresents material facts. This shall include concealment or misrepresentation of material facts required on any provider agreements or questionnaires submitted by affiliates when the provider knew or should have known the contents of the submitted documents;
code of ethics governing the conduct of occupations or professions or regulated industries. In addition to all other laws which would commonly be understood to govern or regulate the conduct of occupations, professions, or regulated industries, this provision shall 13 CSR 70-3
include any violations of the civil or criminal laws of the United States, of Missouri, or any other state or territory, where the violation is reasonably related to the provider’s qualifications, functions, or duties in any licensed or regulated profession or where an element of the violation is fraud, dishonesty, moral turpitude, or an act of violence;
by state or federal law for participation (for example, licensure);
gram or any other federal health care program;
ment as payment in full for covered services or collecting additional payment from a participant or responsible person, except this shall not apply to MO HealthNet services for which participants are responsible for payment of a copayment or coinsurance in accordance with 13 CSR 70-4.050 and 13 CSR 70-4.051;
agreement when requested to do so by the single state agency in order to preserve the single state agency’s compliance with federal and state requirements; or failure to execute an agreement within twenty (20) days for compliance purposes;
provider operations within ten (10) days or date specified after receiving written notice of these deficiencies from the single state agency or within the time frame provided from any other agency having licensing or certification authority;
sured by a board of licensure or an association of the provider’s peers for unethical, unlawful, or unprofessional conduct; any termination, removal, suspension, revocation, denial, probation, consented surrender, or other disqualification of all or part of any license, permit, certificate, or registration related to the provider’s business or profession in Missouri or any other state or territory of the United States;
participation in another governmental medical program such as Workers’ Compensation, Crippled Children’s Services, Rehabilitation Services, Title XX Social Service Block Grant, or Medicare;
arising from billings to third parties for costs of services or merchandise or for negligent practice resulting in death or injury or substandard care to persons including, but not limited to, the provider’s patients;
ments for the repayment of identified overpayments or otherwise erroneous payments prior to the allowed forty-five (45) days which the provider has to refund the requested amount;
more than once for the same service when the billings were not caused by the single state agency or its agents;
gram for services not provided prior to the date of billing (prebilling), except in the case of prepaid health plans or pharmacy claims submitted by point-of-service technology; whether or not the prebilling causes loss or harm to the MO HealthNet program;
medical assistance program (MO HealthNet) within thirty (30) days any pharmacy claims submitted to the agency that represent products or services not received by the participant; for example, prescriptions that were returned to stock because they were not picked up;
reduction or depletion of a long-term care facility MO HealthNet participant’s personal funds or reserve account, unless specifically authorized in writing by the participant, relative, or responsible person;
personally rendered by the individually enrolled provider, except for the provisions specified in the MO HealthNet dental, physician, or nurse midwife programs where such claims may be submitted only if the individually enrolled provider directly supervised the person who actually performed the service and the person was employed by the enrolled provider at the time the service was rendered. All claims for psychiatric, psychological counseling, speech therapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy services may only be billed by the individually enrolled provider who actually performs the service, as supervision is noncovered for these services. Services performed by a nonenrolled person due to MO HealthNet sanction, whether or not the person was under supervision of the enrolled provider, is a noncovered service;
in return for referring an individual to the provider for the delivery of any goods or services for which payment may be made in whole or in part under MO HealthNet. Soliciting or receiving any payment from any person in return for referring an individual to another supplier of goods or services regardless of whether the supplier is a MO Health- Net provider for the delivery of any goods or services for which payment may be made in whole or in part under MO HealthNet is also prohibited. Payment includes, without limitation, any kickback, bribe, or rebate made, either directly or indirectly, in cash or inkind;
agent, which were upgraded from those actually ordered, performed; or billing or coding services, either directly or through an agent, in a manner that services are paid for as separate procedures when, in fact, the services were performed concurrently or sequentially and should have been billed or coded as integral components of a total service as prescribed in MO HealthNet policy for payment in a total payment less than the aggregate of the improperly separated services; or billing a higher level of service than is documented in the patient/client record; or unbundling procedure codes;
against the MO HealthNet program or any other state Medicaid (medical assistance) program, or any criminal fraud related to the conduct of the provider’s profession or business;
adverse action invoked by another state Medicaid program;
to review claims for payment for accuracy, duplication, or other errors caused or committed by employees when the failure allows material errors in billing to occur. This includes failure to review remittance advice statements provided which results in payments which do not correspond with the actual services rendered;
to the state or its fiscal agent by an agent or employee of the provider;
care facilities, failing to retain in legible form for at least five (5) years from the date of service, worksheets, financial records, appointment books, appointment calendars (for those providers who schedule patient/client appointments), adequate documentation of the service, and other documents and records verifying data transmitted to a billing intermediary, whether the intermediary is owned by the provider or not. For long-term care providers, failing to retain in legible form, for at least seven (7) years from the date of service, worksheets, financial records, adequate documentation for the service(s), and other documents and records verifying data transmitted to a billing intermediary, whether the intermediary is owned by the provider or not. The documentation must be maintained so as to protect it from damage or loss by fire, water, computer failure, theft, or any other cause;
session or control of a participant any item of durable medical equipment which has reached MO HealthNet-defined purchase price through MO HealthNet rental payments or otherwise become the property of the participant without paying fair market value to the participant;
compliance data or information or failure to timely take corrective action for civil rights compliance deficiencies within thirty (30) days after notification of these deficiencies or failure to cooperate or supply information required or requested by civil rights compliance officers of the single state agency;
for services rendered to a participant in a long-term care facility when the resident resided in a portion of the facility which was not MO HealthNet-certified or properly licensed or was placed in a nonlicensed or MO HealthNet-noncertified bed;
sions of the Missouri Department of Social Services, MO HealthNet Division Title XIX Participation Agreement with the provider relating to health care services;
which is to be made contemporaneously to the date of service;
vices provided and all billing done under his/her provider number regardless to whom the reimbursement is paid and regardless of whom in his/her employ or service produced or submitted the MO HealthNet claim or both;
codes, procedure codes, billing codes regardless to whom the reimbursement is paid and regardless of whom in his/her employ or service produced or submitted the MO Health- Net claim;
defined in subsection (2)(A) the length of time (begin and end clock time) actually spent providing a service, except for services as specified under 13 CSR 70-91.010(4)(A) Personal Care Program, regardless to whom the reimbursement is paid and regardless of whom in his/her employ or service produced or submitted the MO HealthNet claim or both;
er provider when the service is performed or attended by more than one (1) enrolled provider. MO HealthNet will reimburse only one (1) provider for the exact same service;
of compliance with the provisions of Section 6032 of the federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 by March 1 of each year, or failing to provide a requested copy of an attestation, or failing to provide written notification of having more than one (1) federal tax identification number by September 30 of each year, or and Procedure of General Applicability
failing to provide requested proof of a claimed exemption from the provisions of section 6032 of the federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005; and
agency, in writing, on enrollment forms specified by the single state agency, of any changes affecting the provider’s enrollment records within ninety (90) days of the change, with the exception of change of ownership or control of any provider which must be reported within thirty (30) days.
(4) Any one (1) or more of the following sanctions may be invoked against providers for any one (1) or more of the program violations specified in section (3) of this rule:
(10) years;
(5) Imposition of a Sanction.
(A) The decision as to the sanction to be imposed shall be at the discretion of the MO HealthNet agency. The following factors shall be considered in determining the sanction(s) to be imposed:
state agency shall consider the seriousness of the offense(s) including, but not limited to, whether or not an overpayment (that is, financial harm) occurred to the program, whether substandard services were rendered to MO HealthNet participants, or circumstances were such that the provider’s behavior could have caused or contributed to inadequate or dangerous medical care for any patient(s), or a combination of these. Violation of pharmacy laws or rules, practices potentially dangerous to patients and fraud are to be considered particularly serious;
HealthNet agency shall consider the extent of the violations as measured by, but not limited to, the number of patients involved, the number of MO HealthNet claims involved, the number of dollars identified in any overpayment and the length of time over which the violations occurred. The MO HealthNet agency may calculate an overpayment or impose sanctions under this rule by reviewing records pertaining to all or part of a provider’s MO HealthNet claims. When records are examined pertaining to part of a provider’s MO Health- Net claims, no random selection process in choosing the claims for review as set forth in 13 CSR 70-3.130 need be utilized by the MO HealthNet agency. But, if the random selection process is not used, the MO HealthNet agency may not construe violations found in the partial review to be an indication that the extent of the violations in any unreviewed claims would exist to the same or greater extent;
agency shall consider whether or not the provider has been given notice of prior violations of this rule or other program policies. If the provider has received notice and has failed to correct the deficiencies or has resumed the deficient performance, a history shall be given substantial weight supporting the agency’s decision to invoke sanctions. If the history includes a prior imposition of sanction, the agency should not apply a lesser sanction in the second case, even if the subsequent violations are of a different nature;
MO HealthNet agency shall consider more severe sanctions in cases where a provider 13 CSR 70-3
has been subject to sanctions by the MO HealthNet program, any other governmental medical program, Medicare, or exclusion by any private medical insurance carriers for misconduct in billing or professional practice. Restricted or limited participation in compromise after being notified or a more severe sanction should be considered as a prior imposition of a sanction for the purpose of this subsection;
tion—In cases where sanctions are being considered for billing deficiencies only, the MO HealthNet agency may mitigate its sanction if it determines that prior provider education was not provided. In cases where sanctions are being considered for billing deficiencies only and prior provider education has been given, prior provider education followed by a repetition of the same billing deficiencies shall weigh heavily in support of the medical agency’s decision to invoke severe sanctions; and
peer review groups, licensing boards, or Professional Review Organizations (PRO) or utilization review committees—Actions or recommendations by a provider’s peers shall be considered as serious if they involve a determination that the provider has kept or allowed to be kept, substandard medical records, negligently or carelessly performed treatment or services, or, in the case of licensing boards, placed the provider under restrictions or on probation.
(J) Except where termination has been imposed, a provider who has been sanctioned may be required to participate in a provider education program as a condition of continued participation. Provider education programs may include:
provider manuals;
codes;
program;
and
coding or billing problems.
(6) Amounts Due the Department of Social Services From a Provider.
(45) days from the date the provider receives the notice, established by a signed receipt of delivery or receipt of undelivered mail from the United States Post Office using the address on the provider’s enrollment record, may take appropriate action to collect the overpayment. The single state agency may recover the overpayment by withholding from current MO HealthNet reimbursement. The withholding may be taken from one (1) or more payments until the funds withheld in the aggregate equal the amount due as stated in the notice.
overpayment, the Medicaid agency may take appropriate action to collect the balance of the amount due.
AUTHORITY: sections 208.153 and 208.201, RSMo Supp. 2013.* This rule was previously filed as 13 CSR 40-81.160. Original rule filed Sept. 22, 1979, effective Feb. 11, 1980. Amended: Filed Nov. 25, 1981, effective March 11, 1982. Emergency amendment filed April 14, 1982, effective April 24, 1982, expired July 10, 1982. Amended: Filed April 14, 1982, effective July 11, 1982. Amended: Filed April 16, 1985, effective Sept. 1, 1985. Emergency amendment filed Dec. 5, 1986, effective Dec. 15, 1986, expired April 13, 1987. Amended: Filed Dec. 16, 1986, effective April 11, 1987. Amended: Filed Jan. 7, 1987, effective April 26, 1987. Emergency amendment filed April 15, 1988, effective April 25, 1988, expired Aug. 22, 1988. Amended: Filed June 2, 1988, effective Aug. 25, 1988. Amended: Filed Aug. 2, 1990, effective Feb. 14, 1991. Emergency amendment filed Dec. 17, 1993, effective Jan. 1, 1994, expired April 30, 1994. Emergency amendment filed April 15, 1994, effective April 30, 1994, expired Aug. 13, 1994. Amended: Filed Feb. 16, 1994, effective Aug. 28, 1994. Amended: Filed May 16, 2005, effective Nov. 30, 2005. Amended: Filed July 3, 2006, effective Dec. 30, 2006. Amended: Filed Nov. 15, 2006, effective May 30, 2007. Amended: Filed March 30, 2007, effective Sept. 30, 2007. Amended: Filed Aug. 31, 2007, effective March 30, 2008. Amended: Filed Aug. 17, 2009, effective Feb. 28, 2010. Amended: Filed Sept. 16, 2013, effective April 30, 2014. *Original authority: 208.153, RSMo 1967, amended 1967, 1973, 1989, 1990, 1991, 2007, 2012 and 208.201, RSMo 1987, amended 2007.