COVID-19-We’re extending our prior authorization waiver
June 19, 2020
All providers caring for our members
We understand that this is a trying time for all medical care providers due to COVID-19. To better support you, we’ll continue to waive referral and prior authorization requirements for all inpatient levels of care. This includes acute, long-term acute (LTAC), acute and subacute rehabilitation (rehab), and skilled nursing facility (SNF) admissions. Starting with dates of service on or after October 1, 2020, you will need to submit authorizations.
FEP is following guidelines from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association regarding coverage for Federal Employee Program members. For more details see fepblue.org. This is in place for the duration of the state of emergency.
What this means
- You still need to notify us of all inpatient levels of care and submit the appropriate supporting documentation.
- While this notification-only requirement is in place, we will not perform medical necessity reviews for inpatient levels of care.
- Timely notification helps us to facilitate optimal care coordination, mobilize additional services to support transition-of-care and discharge planning, and ensure claims processing.
- This is an extension to the waiver that we announced on March 24 and was set to expire June 23, 2020. See COVID-19: Latest news (March 24).
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