(a) A decision on a request for prior authorization by a utilization review entity shall include a determination as to whether or not the individual is covered by a health benefit plan and eligible to receive the requested service under the health benefit plan.

(b)

(1) A utilization review entity shall not rescind, limit, condition, or restrict an authorization based upon medical necessity unless the utilization review entity notifies the healthcare provider at least three (3) business days before the scheduled date of the admission, service, procedure, or extension of stay.

(2) Notwithstanding subdivision (b)(1) of this section, a utilization review entity may rescind, limit, condition, or restrict an authorization if:

(A) The subscriber was not covered by the health benefit plan and was not eligible to receive the requested service under the health benefit plan on the date of the admission, service, procedure, or extension of stay; and

(B) The utilization review entity has provided to the healthcare provider a means to confirm whether or not the subscriber is covered by the health benefit plan and eligible to receive the requested service up to the date of admission, service, procedure, or extension of stay.

(c) A healthcare insurer shall pay a claim for a healthcare service for which prior authorization was received regardless of the terminology used by the utilization review entity or health benefit plan when reviewing the claim, unless:

(1) The authorized healthcare service was never performed;

(2) The submission of the claim for the healthcare service with respect to the subscriber was not timely under the terms of the applicable provider contract or policy;

(3) The subscriber had not exhausted contract or policy benefit limitations based on information available to the utilization review entity or healthcare insurer at the time of the authorization but subsequently exhausted contract or policy benefit limitations after the authorization was issued, in which case the utilization review entity or healthcare insurer shall include language in the notice of authorization to the subscriber and healthcare provider that the visits or services authorized might exceed the limits of the contract or policy and would accordingly not be covered under the contract or policy;

(4) There is specific information available for review by the appropriate state or federal agency that the subscriber or healthcare provider has engaged in material misrepresentation, fraud, or abuse regarding the claim for the authorized service; or

(5) The authorization was granted more than ninety (90) days before the authorized healthcare service is provided.

(d) (1) (A) A utilization review entity doing business in this state shall strive to implement no later than July 1, 2018, a mechanism by which healthcare providers may request prior authorizations through an automated electronic system as an alternative to telephone-based prior authorization systems.

(B) The State Insurance Department may promulgate a rule mandating the implementation of a mechanism described in this subsection and defining the services to which this subsection applies.

(2) A healthcare provider shall retain the ability to use either the automated electronic system or a telephone-based system.

(3) The automated electronic system shall be capable of handling benefit inquiries under § 23-99-1113.

(e) A service authorized and guaranteed for payment under this section for which the prior authorization is not rescinded or reversed under subsection (b) of this section is not subject to audit recoupment under § 23-63-1801 et seq., except as provided for in subsection (b) of this section.