(a) “Billing agent” or “billing agent of the provider” means any individual, partnership, group, association, corporation, institution, or entity, and the officers, directors, owners, managing employees, or agents of any partnership, group, association, corporation, institution, or entity, that submits claims on behalf of the provider, as defined in Section 14043.1, for reimbursement for services, goods, supplies, or merchandise rendered or provided directly or indirectly to a Medi-Cal beneficiary or under the Medi-Cal program. As used in this section a billing agent shall not include an authorized representative of a provider billing solely for that provider, a provider wholly owned entity billing solely for the provider, or a clinic licensed pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 1204 of the Health and Safety Code or exempt from licensure pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 1206 of the Health and Safety Code when preparing and submitting claims for services provided on behalf of the clinic. For purposes of this subdivision, an authorized representative shall be either an individual who is an employee of the provider or an individual with a familial relationship to the provider. For purposes of this section and Section 14040.5, an authorized representative, a provider wholly owned entity billing solely for the provider, or a clinic that is licensed pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 1204 of the Health and Safety Code or exempt from licensure pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 1206 of the Health and Safety Code, when preparing and submitting claims for services provided on behalf of the clinic, shall be considered a provider.

(b) The department shall establish standards for the registration or continued registration of each billing agent. The standards shall establish time periods, no longer than a year from the date the standards become effective, after which, no billing agent shall submit a claim on behalf of a provider, as defined in Section 14043.1, for reimbursement for services, goods, supplies, or merchandise rendered or provided directly or indirectly by the provider to a Medi-Cal beneficiary or under the Medi-Cal program, unless that billing agent has been registered with the department. The department shall establish the standards for the registration or continued registration of billing agents pursuant to this subdivision, in consultation with interested parties, by the adoption of emergency regulations in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code). The adoption of these emergency regulations or readoption of the regulations shall be deemed to be an emergency necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, or general welfare. Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, emergency regulations adopted or readopted pursuant to this subdivision shall be exempt from review by the Office of Administrative Law. The emergency regulations authorized by this subdivision shall be submitted to the Office of Administrative Law for filing with the Secretary of State and publication in the California Code of Regulations.

(c) The department may complete a background check on applicants for registration or continued registration as a billing agent, for the purpose of verifying the accuracy of information provided by an applicant for registration or continued registration as a billing agent or in order to prevent fraud and abuse. The background check may include, but not be limited to, onsite inspection, review of business records, and data searches.

(d) As a condition of registration, or continued registration, as a billing agent, an applicant for registration as a billing agent shall provide to the department a surety bond of not less than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000). This subdivision shall become operative only if the director executes a declaration, that shall be retained by the director, stating that the surety bonds described in this paragraph are commercially offered throughout the state and by more than one vendor.

(Added by Stats. 2000, Ch. 322, Sec. 14. Effective January 1, 2001.)