SECTION 134.150. Reimbursement of Services Provided by a Federal Military Treatment Facility

(a) This section applies, regardless of the date of injury, to medical services provided on or after January 1, 2020, in a federal military treatment facility (FMTF) as defined in Labor Code §413.0112(a) (relating to Reimbursement of Federal Military Treatment Facility).

(b) Reimbursement for medical services provided to an injured employee shall be the amount of the FMTF's charges as determined under Title 32, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 220 (concerning Collection of Reasonable Charges for Healthcare Services). Additionally, charges may include interest, administrative penalties, or collection fees related to medical benefits.

(c) An FMTF is not required to comply with health care provider billing or preauthorization requirements in Chapters 133 (concerning General Medical Provisions) and 134 (concerning Benefits--Guidelines for Medical Services, Charges, and Payments) of this title. An insurance carrier shall process a medical bill from an FMTF and make payment in accordance with Chapters 133 and 134, except as provided in Labor Code §413.0112. The insurance carrier shall contact the FMTF to obtain any information necessary to process a medical bill and document the name and telephone number of the person who supplied the information.

(d) Notwithstanding the requirements of Chapter 133, an insurance carrier shall process professional and institutional medical services submitted on a single bill by an FMTF. An insurance carrier shall identify reimbursement for professional and institutional services separately on the explanation of benefits form.

(e) The insurance carrier may only deny payment of medical services provided by an FMTF for reasons of medical necessity, compensability, extent of injury, or liability.

(f) An insurance carrier shall forward to the division, within 14 calendar days of receipt, in the form and manner prescribed by the division, the first medical bill for an injured employee that it receives from an FMTF.

(g) An insurance carrier shall report FMTF medical bills in accordance with Chapter 134, Subchapter I, of this title. FMTF medical bills are subject to §102.9 of this title (concerning Submission of Information Requested by the Commission) including medical bills not reported in accordance with §134.806(a)(3) (concerning Records Excluded from Reporting).

Source Note: The provisions of this §134.150 adopted to be effective December 11, 2019, 44 TexReg 7549