Family Planning The MCO must ensure that its network includes sufficient family planning providers to ensure timely access to covered family planning services for enrollees. Although family planning services are included within the MCO’s list of covered benefits, Medicaid enrollees are entitled to obtain all Medicaid covered family planning services without prior authorization through any Medicaid provider, who will bill the MCO and be paid on a FFS basis.3 3 Access to family planning services without prior notification is a federal law. Under OBRA 1987 Section 4113(c)(1)(B), “enrollment of an individual eligible for medical assistance in a primary case management system, a health maintenance organization or a similar entity must not restrict the choice of the qualified person, from whom the individual may receive services under Section 1905(a)(4)(c).” Therefore, Medicaid enrollees The MCO must give each enrollee, including adolescents, the opportunity to use his/her own primary care provider or go to any family planning center for family planning services without requiring a referral. The MCO must make a reasonable effort to Subcontract with all local family planning clinics and providers, including those funded by Title X of the Public Health Services Act, and must reimburse providers for all family planning services regardless of whether they are rendered by a participating or non-participating provider. Unless otherwise negotiated, the MCO must reimburse providers of family planning services at the Medicaid rate. The MCO may, however, at its discretion, impose a withhold on a contracted primary care provider for such family planning services. The MCO may require family planning providers to submit claims or reports in specified formats before reimbursing services. MCOs must provide their Medicaid enrollees with sufficient information to allow them to make an informed choice including: the types of family planning services available, the availability of long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARC), their right to access these services in a timely and confidential manner, and their freedom to choose a qualified family planning provider both within and outside the MCO’s network of providers. In addition, MCOs must ensure that network procedures for accessing family planning services are convenient and easily comprehensible to enrollees. MCOs must also educate enrollees regarding the positive impact of coordinated care on their health outcomes, so enrollees will prefer to access in-network services or, if they should decide to see out-of-network providers, they will agree to the exchange of medical information between providers for better coordination of care. In addition, MCOs are required to provide timely reimbursement for out-of-network family planning and related STD services consistent with services covered in their contracts. The reimbursement must be provided at least at the applicable West Virginia Medicaid FFS rate appropriate to the provider type (current family planning services fee schedule available from DHHR). The MCO, its staff, contracted providers and its contractors that are providing cost, quality, or medical appropriateness reviews or coordination of benefits or subrogation must keep family planning information and records confidential in favor of the individual patient, even if the patient is a minor. The MCO, its staff, contracted providers and its contractors that are providing cost, quality, or medical appropriateness reviews, or coordination of benefits or subrogation must also keep family planning information and records received from non-participating providers confidential in favor of the individual patient even if the patient is a minor. Maternity services, hysterectomies, and pregnancy terminations are not considered family planning services.
