(A)#
With respect to expenses incurred during the period beginning on January 1, 2006 , and ending on December 31, 2017 , for services, the Secretary shall implement a process under which an individual enrolled under this part may, upon request of the individual or a person on behalf of the individual, obtain an exception from the uniform dollar limitation specified in paragraph (2), for services described in paragraphs (1) and (3) if the provision of such services is determined to be medically necessary and if the requirement of subparagraph (B) is met. Under such process, if the Secretary does not make a decision on such a request for an exception within 10 business days of the date of the Secretary’s receipt of the request made in accordance with such requirement, the Secretary shall be deemed to have found the services to be medically necessary.
(B)#
In the case of outpatient therapy services for which an exception is requested under the first sentence of subparagraph (A), the claim for such services shall contain an appropriate modifier (such as the KX modifier used as of February 22, 2012 ) indicating that such services are medically necessary as justified by appropriate documentation in the medical record involved.
(C)#
(i) In applying this paragraph with respect to a request for an exception with respect to expenses that would be incurred for outpatient therapy services (including services described in subsection (a)(8)(B)) that would exceed the threshold described in clause (ii) for a year, the request for such an exception, for services furnished on or after October 1, 2012 , shall be subject to a manual medical review process that, subject to subparagraph (E), is similar to the manual medical review process used for certain exceptions under this paragraph in 2006.
(ii) The threshold under this clause for a year is $3,700. Such threshold shall be applied separately— (I) for physical therapy services and speech-language pathology services; and (II) for occupational therapy services.
(C)(i)#
In applying this paragraph with respect to a request for an exception with respect to expenses that would be incurred for outpatient therapy services (including services described in subsection (a)(8)(B)) that would exceed the threshold described in clause (ii) for a year, the request for such an exception, for services furnished on or after October 1, 2012 , shall be subject to a manual medical review process that, subject to subparagraph (E), is similar to the manual medical review process used for certain exceptions under this paragraph in 2006.
(C)(ii)#
The threshold under this clause for a year is $3,700. Such threshold shall be applied separately—
(I) for physical therapy services and speech-language pathology services; and
(II) for occupational therapy services.
(E)#
(i) 6 6 So in original. There is no subpar. (D). In place of the manual medical review process under subparagraph (C)(i), the Secretary shall implement a process for medical review under this subparagraph under which the Secretary shall identify and conduct medical review for services described in subparagraph (C)(i) furnished by a provider of services or supplier (in this subparagraph referred to as a “therapy provider”) using such factors as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.
(ii) Such factors may include the following: (I) The therapy provider has had a high claims denial percentage for therapy services under this part or is less compliant with applicable requirements under this subchapter. (II) The therapy provider has a pattern of billing for therapy services under this part that is aberrant compared to peers or otherwise has questionable billing practices for such services, such as billing medically unlikely units of services in a day. (III) The therapy provider is newly enrolled under this subchapter or has not previously furnished therapy services under this part. (IV) The services are furnished to treat a type of medical condition. (V) The therapy provider is part of group 7 7 So in original. Probably should be preceded by “a”. that includes another therapy provider identified using the factors determined under this subparagraph.
(iii) For purposes of carrying out this subparagraph, the Secretary shall provide for the transfer, from the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund under section 1395t of this title , of $5,000,000 to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Program Management Account for fiscal years 2015 and 2016, to remain available until expended. Such funds may not be used by a contractor under section 1395ddd(h) of this title for medical reviews under this subparagraph.
(iv) The targeted review process under this subparagraph shall not apply to services for which expenses are incurred beyond the period for which the exceptions process under subparagraph (A) is implemented, except as such process is applied under paragraph (7)(B).