You may have read information that we have been sending you over the past several months regarding an important piece of legislation, HB 628, that the Mississippi Health Information Management Association (MSHIMA) and the Mississippi Hospital Association (MHA) have been promoting for insurance reform.
As a refresher, this bill revises mandatory policy provisions to penalize late payments of claims from Mississippi insurers. It features the following provisions:
- If health insurance claims are not paid on time, there will be a late fee given to insured
- A written notice of claim must be given to the health maintenance company or insurance company within 30 days after an occurrence of any loss covered by the insurance policy
- Upon receiving the claim, the insurer will provide the person that made a claim with the correct paperwork for proof of loss
- Written proof of loss must be provided to the health maintenance company of insurance company within 90 days of the termination period for any policy with periodic payment subject to change upon the loss.
- Benefits due under the claims are overdue if not paid within 25 or 35 days, whichever applicable, after the insurer receives the clean claim containing necessary medical information.
- If claim is not denied, the insurer must pay provider or insured the greater of either:
- Interest on accrued benefits at 1.5% per month beginning the day after payment was due until settled
- Total claim amount by total number of days late by 1% each day until claim is settled
This bill is expected to be discussed in committee very soon. It is now time to act! We would like for you and/or your organization to contact your local representatives and ask them to support HB 628.
In particular, House Insurance Committee members need to hear from their constituents. These members include Representatives Gary Chism (Chair), Otis Anthony, Tracy Arnold, Earl Banks, Jim Beckett, Chris Bell, Charles Busby, Credell Calhoun, Scott DeLano, Oscar Denton, Jarvis Dortch, Dan Eubanks, Kevin Ford, Jeff Guice, Steve Hale, Jeffrey Harness, John Hines, Margaret Rogers, Omeria Scott, William Shirley, Jody Steverson, Jerry Turner, Price Wallace, Percy Watson, Tom Weathersby, Stacey Wilkes and Hank Zuber.
Representatives need to hear the importance of being accurately and promptly paid, the cash flow crunch that late or denied payments cause, the need to level the playing field for providers, and other reasons why this bill is important.
Please e-mail Ryan Kelly at mshima@mshima.org to inform us if you have been able to reach your legislator in support of the bill. We are making calls to these individuals on your behalf, but a personal phone call from you can make all the difference!
Thank you for your support, and please let us know if you have any questions.
