Department of Regulatory Agencies
Division of Insurance
3 CCR 702-4
Life, Accident and Health
Proposed Amended Regulation 4-2-24
CONCERNING CLEAN CLAIM REQUIREMENTS FOR HEALTH CARRIERS
Section 1	Authority
Section 2	Scope and Purpose
Section 3	Applicability
Section 4	Rules
Section 5	Required Elements
Section 6	Additional Information
Section 7	Enforcement
Section 8	Severability
Section 9	Effective Date
Section 10	History
Section 1	Authority
This regulation is promulgated under the authority of §§ 10-1-109, 10-16-106.3(2), and 10-16-109, Colorado Revised Statutes.
Section 2	Scope and Purpose
This regulation was originally promulgated to meet the requirement of Senate Bill 13, enacted during the 2002 General Assembly, that the Commissioner adopt a uniform list of required elements to be included on specified uniform claim forms in order to be considered a “clean claim”.  It is being amended to update the list of required elements on the specified claim forms to incorporate the changes made by the federal government and the American Dental Association. 
Section 3	Applicability
This regulation applies to any entity that provides health coverage in this state including a fraternal benefit society, a health maintenance organization, a nonprofit hospital and health service corporation, a sickness and accident insurance company, and any other entity providing a plan of health insurance or health benefits subject to Article 16 of the insurance laws of Colorado.
Section 4	Rules
A.	Clean claims, as defined in § 10-16-106.5(2), Colorado Revised Statutes, shall be submitted on the appropriate uniform claim form (the American Dental Association Dental Claim Form, the CMS 1500, or the CMS 1450) and include all the required elements as specified in Section 5 of this regulation.
[Note: Formats for standardized forms CMS 1500 and CMS 1450 (UB-04) can be accessed at http://cms.hhs.gov/medicare/edi/edi5.asp.  The dental form can be accessed though the American Dental Association.]
B.	A carrier shall process clean claims within the time frames specified in statute.
C.	A carrier shall pay interest pursuant to § 10-16-106.5(5), C.R.S., when clean claims are not processed within the specified timeframes.
Section 5	Required Elements
A.	The following fields of the American Dental Association Dental Claim Form (2006 version) must be completed before a claim can be considered a “clean claim”:  (See Attachment I)
1.	Field 1:  	Type of Transaction;
2.	Field 3:  	Insurance Company/Dental Benefit Plan Information;
3.	Field 4:  	Other dental or medical coverage;
4.	Fields 5-11: 	Other coverage information (if Field 4 answered ”yes”);
5.	Field 12:  	Policyholder/Subscriber information;
6.	Field 15:  	Policyholder/Subscriber ID;
7.	Field 16:  	Plan/Group number (if group coverage);
8.	Field 18:  	Relationship of patient to policyholder/subscriber;
9.	Field 20:  	Patient name;
10.	Field 21:  	Patient’s birth date;
11.	Field 22:  	Patient’s gender;
12.	Field 24-33;  	Services provided;
13.	Field 36:  	Information release;
14.	Field 37:  	Assignment of benefits (required if payment is to be made to provider);
15.	Field 38:  	Place of treatment;
16.	Field 39:  	Number of enclosures (if radiographs or models enclosed);
17.	Field 40:  	Orthodontic treatment indicator;
18.	Field 45:  	Cause of illness/injury;
19.	Field 48:  	Name and address of billing dentist/entity;
20.	Field 49:  	National Provider Identifier (NPI)
21.	Field 50:  	Dentist’s license number; 
22.	Field 51:  	Dentist/entity identification number;
23.	Field 52:  	Dentist/entity phone number; and
24.	Field 53:  	Treating dentist’s signature.
B.	The following fields of the CMS 1500 Claim Form must be completed before a claim can be considered a “clean claim”:  (see Attachment II)
1.	Field 1:	Type of insurance coverage;
2.	Field 1a: 	Insured identification number;
3.	Field 2: 	Patient’s name;
4.	Field 3: 	Patient’s birth date and sex;
5.	Field 4: 	Insured’s name;
6.	Field 5: 	Patient’s address;
7.	Field 6: 	Patient’s relationship to insured;
8.	Field 7: 	Insured’s address (If same as patient address, can indicate “same”.);
9.	Field 8:	Patient’s status (required only if patient is a dependent);
10.	Field 9 (a-d): 	Other insurance (only if 11d is answered “yes”);
11.	Field 10 (a-c), 	Relation of condition to: employment, auto accident or other accident;
12.	Field 11:	Insured’s policy, group or FECA number;
13.	Field 11c:	Insurance plan or program name;
14.	Field 11d: 	Other insurance indicator;
15.	Field 12: 	Information release (“signature on file” is acceptable);
16.	Field 13: 	Assignment of benefits (“signature on file” is acceptable);
17.	Field 14: 	Date of onset of illness or condition;
18.	Field 17: 	Name of referring physician (if applicable);
19.	Field 21: 	Diagnosis code(s);
20.	Field 23: 	Prior authorization number (if any);
21.	Field 24: A, B, D, E, F,G (C, H Medicaid only): 	Details about services 
provided; 
21a.	Field 24: I, J:	Non-NPI provider information;
22.	Field 25: 	Federal tax ID number;
23.	Field 28: 	Total charge;
24.	Field 31: 	Signature of provider including degrees or credentials (provider name sufficient);
25.	Field 32: 	Address of facility where services were rendered; 
26.	Field 32a:	National Provider Identifier (NPI); 
27.	Field 32b:	Non-NPI (QUAL ID), as applicable; 
28.	Field 33: 	Provider’s billing information and phone number;
29.	Field 33a:	National Provider Identifier (NPI); and 
30.	Field 33b:	Non-NPI (QUAL ID), as applicable.
C.	The following fields of the CMS 1450 (UB-04) Claim Form must be completed before a claim can be considered a “clean claim”:  (see Attachment III)
1.	Field 1: 	Servicing provider’s name, address, and telephone number;
2.	Field 3: 	Patient’s control or medical record number;
3.	Field 4: 	Type of bill code;
4.	Field 5: 	Provider’s federal tax ID number;
5.	Field 6: 	Statement Covers Period – From/Through;
6.	Field 8: 	Patient’s name;
7.	Field 9: 	Patient’s address;
8.	Field 10: 	Patient’s date of birth;
9.	Field 11: 	Patient’s sex; 
10.	Field 12: 	Date of admission;
11.	Field 13: 	Hour of admission;
12.	Field 14: 	Type of admission/visit;
13.	Field 15: 	Admission source code;
14.	Field 16: 	Discharge hour (for maternity only);
15.	Field 17: 	Patient discharge status;
16.	Fields 31-36: 	Occurrence information (accidents only);
17.	Field 38: 	Responsible party’s name and address 
(If same as patient, can indicate “same”.);
18.	Fields 39, 40, and 41: 	Value codes and amounts;
19.	Field 42: 	Revenue codes;
20.	Field 43: 	Revenue descriptions;
21.	Field 44: 	HCPCS/Rates/HIPPS Rate Codes;
22.	Field 45: 	Service/creation date (for outpatient services only);
23.	Field 46: 	Service units; 
24.	Field 47: 	Total charges;
25.	Field 50: 	Payer(s) information;
26.	Field 52: 	Information release;
27.	Field 53: 	Assignment of benefits;
28	Field 56:	National Provider ID (NPI)
29.	Field 58: 	Insured’s name;
30.	Field 59: 	Relationship of patient to insured;
31.	Field 60: 	Insured’s unique ID number;
32.	Field 62: 	Insurance group number(s) (only if group coverage);
33.	Field 63: 	Prior authorization or treatment authorization number (if any);
34.	Field 65: 	Employer information (for Workers’ Comp claims only);
35	Field 66:	ICD Version Indicator 
36.	Field 67: 	Principal diagnosis code;
37.	Field 69: 	Admission diagnosis code (inpatient only);
38.	Field 74, 	Principal procedure code and date (when applicable); and
39.	Field 76: 	Attending physician’s name and ID (NPI or QUAL ID).

Section 6	Additional Information
A.	A claim with all required fields completed is not considered “clean” if additional information is needed in order to adjudicate the claim.  Carriers may request additional information only if the carrier’s claim liability cannot be determined with the existing information on the claim form and the information requested is likely to allow a determination of liability to be made.   When additional information is required, the carrier shall make the specific request in writing within thirty calendar days after receipt of the claim form.  If information is being requested from a party other than the billing provider, the provider shall be notified that additional information is needed to adjudicate the claim.  The specific information requested shall be requested within 30 calendar days after receipt of the claim form and identified for the provider upon request.
B.	Additional information requested must be related to information in the required fields of the claim forms, although the genesis of the request may be from other sources, e.g., if the carrier has other information that indicates the information in a required field is incorrect such as previous claims that indicate the treatment was for work-related injuries when the claim form indicates otherwise.   Requests for additional information to determine if the treatment is medically necessary or if a pre-existing condition limitation applies would be related to the fields specifying the services provided.
C.	A carrier is not permitted to request additional information for the purpose of determining medical necessity when the claim form has all required fields correctly completed and the services were preauthorized pursuant to §10-16-704(4), C.R.S.
D.	When all additional information or documentation necessary to resolve the claim is provided with the appropriate claim form that includes all required elements as specified in Section 5 of this regulation, the claim shall be considered a clean claim and processed within the timeframes specified in statute.  The following circumstances are those for which additional information is generally required by most health carriers:
1.	When the coverage is not primary, an EOB from the primary payer;
2.	When service/procedure codes indicate “unusual” procedural services or anesthesia, the medical records to justify medical necessity;
3.	When surgical procedures utilize multiple surgeons or surgical assistants, the medical records to justify medical necessity;
4.	When the procedure is a repeat procedure, the medical records to justify medical necessity;
5.	When supplies and materials are ordered on an outpatient basis, the medical records and/or invoice to justify medical necessity or allowable fee; and
6.	When services are billed using a “by report” or unlisted CPT code, medical records to substantiate the claim.
E.	If a managed care plan requires medical or other records on all claims for particular types of services/procedures or diagnosis codes, the carrier must clearly disclose such requirements in the provider contract, provider manual, or provider manual updates.  If a carrier contracts with an intermediary, the carrier shall be responsible for making sure the intermediary provides such disclosure to contracted providers in a timely manner.
F.	When requesting medical records, carriers must identify the particular component(s) of the medical record being requested or indicate the specific reason for the request, e.g., progress reports for most recent three months, or records to establish the medical necessity of the treatment provided.  The records requested must be related to the service/procedure of the claim and limited to the minimum amount of information necessary.  Requests for “all medical records” is not specific enough and would not be an appropriate request for claim adjudication. 
Medical information requested from institutional providers shall be additionally limited to the following:
1.	History and physical reports;
2.	Consultant reports;
3.	Operative reports;
4.	Discharge summaries;
5.	Emergency department reports;
6.	Diagnostic reports; and
7.	Progress reports.
Section 7	Enforcement
Noncompliance with this regulation may result, after notice and opportunity for hearing, in the imposition of any of the sanctions pertaining to the business of insurance, including the imposition of fines and suspension or revocation of certificate of authority.
Section 8	Severability
If any provision of this regulation is for any reason held to be invalid, the remainder of the regulation shall not be affected thereby.
Section 9	Effective Date
This regulation is effective February 1, 2008.
Section 10	History
1.	Emergency regulation 02-E-7, effective July 2, 2002.
2.	Temporary regulation 02-T-7, effective October 1, 2002.
3.	Regulation 4-2-24 effective February 1, 2003.
4.	Amended regulation 4-2-24 effective February 1, 2008.