The regulatory time frames begin when the delegated PPG's UM department receives a request for prior authorization. If the PPG's UM department receives a request for prior authorization of services and it is determined to be the Plan's responsibility, the PPG must immediately forward the request to the Plan as the regulatory time frames begin at the time of the original request. The commercial Informational Letter to Member or Provider/Physician carve-out letter(PDF) or Medicare Advantage Informational Letter to Member or Provider/Physician carve-out letter (PDF) serves to advise the member that the PPG's utilization management entity received a prior authorization request for which the PPG is not delegated to conduct a prior authorization review and notifies the member that the request has been forwarded to the Plan. The regulatory time frame for the prior authorization review does not reset or stop when this letter is issued.

Prior authorization for DSNP services not covered under Medicare but covered under Medi-Cal for members in Exclusively Aligned Enrollment (EAE) counties

Dual Special Needs Plan (DSNP) contractors are required to provide integrated organization determination for the DSNP members in Exclusively Aligned Enrollment (EAE) counties. For DSNP members in EAE counties, you must review both Medicare and Medi-Cal benefits to determine eligibility for the service requested. Do not deny prior authorization as “not a covered benefit” without checking both Medicare and Medi-Cal covered services (refer to the list of services below).

DSNP prior authorization timelines

PPGs should forward prior authorizations for the services that are not covered under Medicare but that are covered under Medi-Cal to Health Net within the following timelines:

• For standard requests, forward to Health Net within one business day upon receipt of the request.
• For expedited requests, forward to Health Net within 24 hours upon receipt of the request.

Fax authorizations to the Health Net Medi-Cal Prior Authorization Department fax number

Fax prior authorizations to the Medi-Cal fax number listed under Health Net – Prior Authorization and include:

• The date and time that the service request was initially received.
• The clinical decision that was used to make the initial determination.

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) counts the time from the date when Health Net receives the request, regardless of whether it is during business hours. Non-urgent requests may be processed on the next business day.

Services not covered under Medicare but covered under Medi-Cal

• Asthma remediation
• Community Based Adult Services
• Community Supports
• Community transition services/nursing facility transition services to a home
• Day habilitation programs
• Durable medical equipment (DME) that is covered by Medi-Cal
• Environmental accessibility adaptation (home modification)
• Housing deposit (up to $6,000)
• Housing tenancy and sustaining services
• Housing transition navigation
• Long-term care
• Medically tailored meals
• Nursing facility transition/diversion to assisted living facilities
• Personal care services and homemaker services
• Recuperative care
• Respite services
• Short-term post-hospitalization housing
• Sobering centers

Scenarios where PPGs would be responsible for sending out the Applicable Integrated Plan (AIP) Coverage Decision Letter

Refer to the below table to see the scenarios where PPGs are responsible for sending out the AIP Coverage Decision Letter. This will help PPGs determine when to forward the authorizations to the Plan and when to send the Applicable Integrated Plan Coverage Decision Letter for DSNP members in EAE counties.

Scenarios where PPGs would be responsible for forwarding the request to the Plan

The Applicable Integrated Plan Coverage Decision Letter can be found in the Delegation Oversight Interactive Tool (DOIT)/MetricStream.