A. The superintendent shall adopt and promulgate rules to provide for a uniform and efficient provider credentialing process. The superintendent shall approve no more than two forms of application to be used for the credentialing of providers.

B. A health care plan shall not require a provider to submit information not required by a credentialing application established pursuant to Subsection A of this section.

C. The provisions of this section apply equally to initial credentialing applications and applications for recredentialing.

D. The rules that the superintendent adopts and promulgates shall require primary credential verification no more frequently than every three years and allow provisional credentialing for a period of one year.

E. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a health care plan to credential or provisionally credential a provider.

F. The rules that the superintendent adopts and promulgates shall establish that a health care plan or a health care plan's agent shall:

(1) assess and verify the qualifications of a provider applying to become a participating provider within forty-five calendar days of receipt of a complete credentialing application and issue a decision in writing to the applicant approving or denying the credentialing application; and

(2) within ten working days after receipt of a credentialing application, send a written notification, via United States certified mail, to the applicant requesting any information or supporting documentation that the insurer requires to approve or deny the credentialing application. The notice to the applicant shall include a complete and detailed description of all of the information or supporting documentation required and the name, address and telephone number of a person who serves as the applicant's point of contact for completing the credentialing application process. Any information required pursuant to this section shall be reasonably related to the information in the application.

G. A health care plan shall reimburse a provider for covered health care services for any claims from the provider that the insurer receives with a date of service more than forty-five calendar days after the date on which the health care plan received a complete credentialing application for that provider; provided that:

(1) the provider has submitted a complete credentialing application and any supporting documentation that the health care plan has requested in writing within the time frame established in Paragraph (2) of Subsection F of this section;

(2) the health care plan has approved, or has failed to approve or deny, the applicant's complete credentialing application within the time frame established pursuant to Paragraph (1) of Subsection F of this section;

(3) the provider has no past or current license sanctions or limitations, as reported by the New Mexico medical board or another pertinent licensing and regulatory agency, or by a similar out-of-state licensing and regulatory entity for a provider licensed in another state; and

(4) the provider has professional liability insurance or is covered under the Medical Malpractice Act [Chapter 41, Article 5 NMSA 1978].

H. A provider who was not, at the time services were rendered, employed by a practice or group that has contracted with the health care plan to provide services at specified rates of reimbursement shall be paid by the health care plan in accordance with the health care plan's standard reimbursement rate.

I. A provider who was, at the time services were rendered, employed by a practice or group that has contracted with the health care plan to provide services at specified rates of reimbursement shall be paid by the health care plan in accordance with the terms of that contract.

J. The superintendent shall adopt and promulgate rules to provide for the resolution of disputes relating to reimbursement and credentialing arising in cases where credentialing is delayed beyond forty-five days after application.

K. A health care plan shall reimburse a provider pursuant Subsections G, H and I of this section until the earlier of the following occurs:

(1) the insurer's approval or denial of the provider's complete credentialing application; or

(2) the passage of three years from the date the health care plan received the provider's complete credentialing application.

History: Laws 2015, ch. 111, § 6; 2016, ch. 20, § 5.

The 2016 amendment, effective May 18, 2016, amended credentialing requirements for health care providers; in Subsection A, in the second sentence, after "The", deleted "rules shall establish a single credentialing application form" and added "superintendent shall approve no more than two forms of application to be used"; in Subsection B, after "not required by", deleted "the uniform" and added "a"; in Subsection C, after "equally to", added "initial"; in Subsection D, after "promulgates", deleted "pursuant to Subsection A of this section", and after "every three years", added "and allow provisional credentialing for a period of one year"; added a new Subsection E and redesignated Subsections E and F as Subsections F and G, respectively; in Subsection F, in the introductory sentence, after "promulgates", deleted "pursuant to Subsection A of this section"; in Subsection G, deleted "Except as provided pursuant to Subsection G of this section", in the introductory sentence, after "health care services", deleted "in accordance with the carrier's standard reimbursement rate", and after "date on which the", deleted "insurer" and added "health care plan", in Paragraph (1), after "documentation that the", deleted "insurer" and added "health care plan", and after "Subsection", deleted "E" and added "F", in Paragraph (2), after the first occurrence of "the", deleted "insurer" and added "health care plan", after the first occurrence of "has", added "approved, or has", and after "Subsection", deleted "E" and added "F"; added a new Subsection H and redesignated former Subsections G, H and I as Subsections I, J and K, respectively; in Subsection I, deleted "In cases where", after "A provider", deleted "is joining an existing" and added "who was, at the time services were rendered, employed by a", and after "has contracted", deleted "reimbursement rates with a health care plan, the insurer shall pay the provider" and added "with the health care plan to provide services at specified rates of reimbursement shall be paid by the health care plan"; and in Subsection K, in the introductory sentence, after "pursuant", deleted " to the circumstances set forth in Subsection F" and added "Subsections G, H and I", and in Paragraph (2), after "the date the", deleted "carrier" and added "health care plan".

Applicability. — Laws 2016, ch. 20, § 7B provided that the provisions of Laws 2016, ch. 20, §§ 2 through 5 apply to applications for provider credentialing made on or after January 1, 2017.

Temporary provisions. — Laws 2016, ch. 20, § 6 provided that the superintendent of insurance shall promulgate rules to implement the provisions of Laws 2016, ch. 20 no later than September 1, 2016.