Reminder to Providers of Medicaid Check Write Delay This Week

Providers are reminded that this week, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals will not issue checks to Medicaid providers. Providers will be paid for these claims in a double payment that will occur on next week's July 3 check write.

This delay, announced in April, is related to the State's recent move to a 14-day claims payment cycle to incorporate pre-payment claims screening.

Last summer, the State published a new payment calendar for the current fiscal year, including two hold weeks in which no claims were paid, moving Medicaid claims processing to a 21-day cycle. The first hold week occurred during the last week in February, and moved the claims payment cycle from 7 to 14 days. Working with the Medicaid fiscal intermediary, Molina, DHH determined that an additional seven days were not necessary to implement the pre-payment review process.

Because DHH's appropriation for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, was set based on the planned transition to the 21-day cycle, the department will delay claims payments this week, with no usual Tuesday check write today.

However, providers will receive payment for this week's claims along with next week's claims in the first check write of the next fiscal year, which occurs July 3, 2012. Weekly payments in the next fiscal year will then resume on a 14-day processing cycle.

Changes to the check write schedule are unrelated to the three BAYOU HEALTH Plans - Amerigroup, LaCare and Louisiana Healthcare Connections - that handle their own claims processing and payment. The other two BAYOU HEALTH Plans, Community Health Solutions and United Healthcare Community Plan, send their claims to Molina for payment, and these Plans will follow the Medicaid program's check write schedule.

The changes also do not affect the payment schedule for Medicaid specialized behavioral health services through the Louisiana Behavioral Health Partnership, which are paid and processed through Magellan.