COB Payment Calculations
As the secondary carrier, the plan coordinates benefits and pays balances, up to the member's liability, for covered services, unless the maximum allowable is paid by the primary care insurer. However, the dollar value of the balance payment cannot exceed the dollar value of the maximum allowable amount that would have been paid had the plan been the primary carrier.
In most cases, members who have coverage through two carriers are not responsible for cost shares or copayments. Therefore, it is advisable to wait until payment is received from both carriers before collecting from the member. Copayments are waived when a member has other insurance as primary coverage. If a participating provider contracts with two HMOs and the member belongs to both, all prior authorization requirements for both carriers must be complied with in order to coordinate benefits. For example, if the primary carrier as well as the plan require authorization for a procedure or service, and authorization is requested and approved by the primary carrier, the plan does not require authorization for that procedure or service. However, if the primary carrier requires authorization and authorization is not requested or approved from the primary carrier, and the plan requires authorization, the plan does not make payment as the secondary carrier unless the prior authorization is requested and approved by the plan