You know Texas weather. In 2015,
blizzards, tornadoes, floodwaters, and windstorms (no major hurricanes, but you
know one is coming sooner or later) pounded the state. Some physician practices
experienced severe damage, and they had to scramble to get back on their feet.
Here is a tip to put in your “disaster
preparedness file”: Under Texas prompt payment laws, you may be able get an extension
of the 95-day claims filing deadline if you believe you will not be able to
meet it for some claims because of a catastrophic event, like a tornado.
However, you must act quickly after your
disaster. You must notify the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) of your
inability to meet claims filing deadlines by letter within five days after the
catastrophic event.
Let TDI know your practice
address, contact information, and the names of the physicians in the practice. Mail the letter
to: Life/Health and HMO Intake Team, Texas Department of Insurance, PO Box 149104, Mail Code 106-1E, Austin,
TX 78714-9104.
Then, once your practice has
returned to normal business operations, you’ll need to notify TDI of this fact
within 10 business days of normal operations. You must send TDI — to the
address above — a notarized letter certifying:
- The
specific nature and date of the catastrophic event that caused you to be unable
to meet the timely filing deadlines, and
- The
length of time the catastrophic event caused an interruption in your claims
submission or processing activities.
The deadlines are delayed by the period
you certify under No. 2 above.
You might consider drafting both letters
in advance so that you’d just have to fill in the specifics and print them out
if a time comes when you need to use the letters.
Published Jan. 13, 2016
TMA Practice E-Tips main page
Last Updated On
June 01, 2016