RCW 19.340.040 Auditing of claims—Requirements—Prohibited practices.

An entity that audits claims or an independent third party that contracts with an entity to audit claims:

(1) Must establish, in writing, a procedure for a pharmacy to appeal the entity's findings with respect to a claim and must provide a pharmacy with a notice regarding the procedure, in writing or electronically, prior to conducting an audit of the pharmacy's claims;

(2) May not conduct an audit of a claim more than twenty-four months after the date the claim was adjudicated by the entity;

(3) Must give at least fifteen days' advance written notice of an on-site audit to the pharmacy or corporate headquarters of the pharmacy;

(4) May not conduct an on-site audit during the first five days of any month without the pharmacy's consent;

(5) Must conduct the audit in consultation with a pharmacist who is licensed by this or another state if the audit involves clinical or professional judgment;

(6) May not conduct an on-site audit of more than two hundred fifty unique prescriptions of a pharmacy in any twelve-month period except in cases of alleged fraud;

(7) May not conduct more than one on-site audit of a pharmacy in any twelve-month period;

(8) Must audit each pharmacy under the same standards and parameters that the entity uses to audit other similarly situated pharmacies;

(9) Must pay any outstanding claims of a pharmacy no more than forty-five days after the earlier of the date all appeals are concluded or the date a final report is issued under RCW 19.340.080(3);

(10) May not include dispensing fees or interest in the amount of any overpayment assessed on a claim unless the overpaid claim was for a prescription that was not filled correctly;

(11) May not recoup costs associated with:

(a) Clerical errors; or

(b) Other errors that do not result in financial harm to the entity or a consumer; and

(12) May not charge a pharmacy for a denied or disputed claim until the audit and the appeals procedure established under subsection (1) of this section are final.

[ 2014 c 213 § 4.]