Section 1374.31 Of Article 5.55. Appeals Seeking Independent Medical Reviews From California Health And Safety Code >> Division 2. >> Chapter 2.2. >> Article 5.55.
1374.31
. (a) If there is an imminent and serious threat to the
health of the enrollee, as specified in subdivision (c) of Section
1374.33, all necessary information and documents shall be delivered
to an independent medical review organization within 24 hours of
approval of the request for review. In reviewing a request for
review, the department may waive the requirement that the enrollee
follow the plan's grievance process in extraordinary and compelling
cases, where the director finds that the enrollee has acted
reasonably.
(b) The department shall expeditiously review requests and
immediately notify the enrollee in writing as to whether the request
for an independent medical review has been approved, in whole or in
part, and, if not approved, the reasons therefor. The plan shall
promptly issue a notification to the enrollee, after submitting all
of the required material to the independent medical review
organization, that includes an annotated list of documents submitted
and offer the enrollee the opportunity to request copies of those
documents from the plan. The department shall promptly approve
enrollee requests whenever the enrollee's plan has agreed that the
case is eligible for an independent medical review. The department
shall not refer coverage decisions for independent review. To the
extent an enrollee request for independent review is not approved by
the department, the enrollee request shall be treated as an immediate
request for the department to review the grievance pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 1368.
(c) An independent medical review organization, specified in
Section 1374.32, shall conduct the review in accordance with Section
1374.33 and any regulations or orders of the director adopted
pursuant thereto. The organization's review shall be limited to an
examination of the medical necessity of the disputed health care
services and shall not include any consideration of coverage
decisions or other contractual issues.