Sec. 2. (a) An external grievance procedure established under section 1 of this chapter must:

(1) allow an enrollee or the enrollee's representative to file a written request with the health maintenance organization for an appeal of the health maintenance organization's grievance resolution under IC 27-13-10-8 not later than one hundred twenty (120) days after the enrollee is notified of the resolution under IC 27-13-10-8; and

(2) provide for:

(A) an expedited appeal for a grievance related to an illness, a disease, a condition, an injury, or a disability that would seriously jeopardize the enrollee's:

(i) life or health; or

(ii) ability to reach and maintain maximum function; or

(B) a standard appeal for a grievance not described in clause (A).

An enrollee may file not more than one (1) appeal of a health maintenance organization's grievance resolution under this chapter.

(b) Subject to the requirements of subsection (d), when a request is filed under subsection (a), the health maintenance organization shall:

(1) select a different independent review organization for each appeal filed under this chapter from the list of independent review organizations that are certified by the department under section 8 of this chapter; and

(2) rotate the choice of an independent review organization among all certified independent review organizations before repeating a selection.

(c) The independent review organizations shall assign a medical review professional who is board certified in the applicable specialty for resolution of an appeal.

(d) The independent review organization and the medical review professional conducting the external review under this chapter may not have a material professional, familial, financial, or other affiliation with any of the following:

(1) The health maintenance organization.

(2) Any officer, director, or management employee of the health maintenance organization.

(3) The physician or the physician's medical group that is proposing the service.

(4) The facility at which the service would be provided.

(5) The development or manufacture of the principal drug, device, procedure, or other therapy that is proposed by the treating physician.

However, the medical review professional may have an affiliation under which the medical review professional provides health care services to enrollees of the health maintenance organization and may have an affiliation that is limited to staff privileges at the health facility if the affiliation is disclosed to the enrollee and the health maintenance organization before commencing the review and neither the enrollee nor the health maintenance organization objects.

(e) The enrollee shall not pay any of the costs associated with the services of an independent review organization under this chapter. All costs must be paid by the health maintenance organization.

As added by P.L.133-1999, SEC.7. Amended by P.L.160-2011, SEC.29; P.L.81-2012, SEC.41.