20-864 Stay Compliant with Phone Access Standards

Date: 11/13/20

This information applies to Physicians & Participating Physician Groups (PPGs)

For Medi-Cal, this information applies to Kern, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tulare counties.

Take action to correct problems that are not compliant with phone access standards.

Beginning November 2020, Health Net will conduct quarterly phone surveys to a random sample of primary care physicians. The surveys evaluate provider compliance with the phone access standards as set forth by the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS). The survey will consist of one question and should only take a few minutes to complete.

Access standards

Provider offices are asked to comply with the following phone access standards:

• Answer member calls within 60 seconds. Calls can be answered live or with a recording.
• Return member calls within one business day for non-urgent issues.

Providers should review their office phone answering protocols to make sure they are compliant with the above standards. Providers should take steps to correct problems identified.

Additional information

Providers are encouraged to access the provider portal online at provider.healthnet.com for real-time information, including eligibility verification, claims status, prior authorization status, plan summaries, and more.

If you have questions regarding the information contained in this update, contact the Health Net Medi-Cal Provider Services Center within 60 days at 1-800-675-6110.