A. The department may audit a medicaid provider or subcontractor for overpayment, using sampling for the time period audited. If the department contracts for the audit, the department shall contract only with an independent auditor approved by the state auditor. Each audited claim shall be reviewed by a person who is licensed, certified, registered or otherwise credentialed in New Mexico as to the matters such person reviews, including coding or specific clinical practice.

B. The department shall not extrapolate audit findings unless a medicaid provider's or subcontractor's error rate exceeds ten percent based upon an appropriate sampling and a representative sample of claims computed by valid statistical methods in accordance with the most recently published medicare program integrity manual and using statistical software approved by the United States department of health and human services.

C. Prior to reaching either a final determination of overpayment or a credible allegation of fraud, the department shall serve the medicaid provider or subcontractor with a written preliminary finding of overpayment.

D. The preliminary finding of overpayment shall:

(1) state with specificity the factual and legal basis for each claim forming the basis of an alleged overpayment;

(2) include a copy of the final audit report if the alleged overpayment is based on an audit; and

(3) notify the medicaid provider or subcontractor that is the subject of a preliminary finding of overpayment of its right to request, within thirty calendar days of service of the preliminary finding of overpayment, an informal conference with a representative of the department who is knowledgeable about the department's preliminary finding of overpayment and with a member of the audit team, if an audit formed the basis of any alleged overpayment, to informally address, resolve or dispute the department's preliminary finding of overpayment.

E. Prior to making either a final determination of overpayment or a determination of credible allegation of fraud, the department may impose corrective action upon the medicaid provider or subcontractor to address systemic conditions contributing to errors in the submission of claims for payment to which a medicaid provider or subcontractor is not entitled.

History: Laws 2019, ch. 215, § 5.

Effective dates. — Laws 2019, ch. 215, § 20 made Laws 2019, ch. 215 effective January 1, 2020.

Severability. — Laws 2019, ch. 215, § 19, provided that if any part or application of this act is held invalid, the remainder or its application to other situations or persons shall not be affected.