AHM-530 Network Management Questions and Answers

Dr. Ahmad Shah and Dr. Shantelle Owen provide primary care services to Medicare+Choice enrollees of health plans under the following physician incentive plans:

Dr. Shah receives $40 per enrollee per month for providing primary care and an additional $10 per enrollee per month if the cost of referral services falls below a specified level

Dr. Owen receives $30 per enrollee per month for providing primary care and an additional $15 per enrollee per month if the cost of referral services falls below a specified level

The use of a physician incentive plan creates substantial risk for

The provider contract that the Canyon health plan has with Dr. Nicole Enberg specifies that she cannot sue or file any claims against a Canyon plan member for covered services, even if Canyon becomes insolvent or fails to meet its financial obligations. The contract also specifies that Canyon will compensate her under a typical discounted fee-for-service (DFFS) payment system.

During its recredentialing of Dr. Enberg, Canyon developed a report that helped the health plan determine how well she met Canyon's standards. The report included cumulative performance data for Dr. Enberg and encompassed all measurable aspects of her performance. This report included such information as the number of hospital admissions Dr. Enberg had and the number of referrals she made outside of Canyon's provider network during a specified period. Canyon also used process measures, structural measures, and outcomes measures to evaluate Dr. Enberg's performance.

The clause which specifies that Dr. Enberg cannot sue or file any claims against a Canyon plan member for covered services is known as:

If a member of the Green Health Plan reasonably believes that a provider in Green's provider network was acting as Green's employee or agent while providing negligent care, then the member may have cause to bring action against the health plan. This legal concept is known as vicarious liability. Steps that Green can take to reduce its exposure to vicarious liability claims include:

Factors that are likely to indicate increased health plan market maturity include:

Grant Pelham is covered by both a workers’ compensation program and a group health plan provided by his employer. The Shipwright Health Plan administers both programs. Mr. Grant was injured while on the job and applied for benefits.

Mr. Pelham’s group health insurance plan and workers’ compensation both provide benefits to cover expenses incurred as a result of illness or injury. However, unlike traditional group insurance coverage, workers’ compensation

The Pine Health Plan has incorporated pharmacy benefits management into its operations to form a unified benefit. Potential advantages that Pine can receive from this action include:

Under the compensation arrangement that the Falcon Health Plan has with some of its providers, Falcon holds back 10% of the negotiated payments to these providers in order to offset or pay for any claims that exceed the budgeted costs for referral or hospital services. If the providers keep costs within the budgeted amount, Falcon distributes to them the entire amount of money held back. This way of motivating providers to control costs while providing high-quality, appropriate care is known as a:

Edward Patillo has established a Medicare+Choice medical savings account (MSA). This MSA will allow Mr. Patillo to:

Partial capitation is one common approach to capitation. One typical characteristic of partial capitation is that it:

The Aztec Health Plan has a variety of organizational committees related to quality and utilization management. These committees include the medical advisory committee, the credentialing committee, the utilization management committee, and the quality management committee. Of these committees, the one that most likely is responsible for providing oversight of Aztec's inpatient concurrent review process is the:

The provider contract that Dr. Laura Cartier has with the Sailboat health plan includes a section known as the recitals. Dr. Cartier's contract includes the following statements:

The Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA) of 1982 allowed competitive medical plans (CMPs) to participate in the Medicare program on a risk basis. Under the terms of Medicare risk contracts, CMPs were required to deliver all medically necessary Medicare-covered services in return for a

The provider contract that the Canyon health plan has with Dr. Nicole Enberg specifies that she cannot sue or file any claims against a Canyon plan member for covered services, even if Canyon becomes insolvent or fails to meet its financial obligations. The contract also specifies that Canyon will compensate her under a typical discounted fee-for-service (DFFS) payment system.

During its recredentialing of Dr. Enberg, Canyon developed a report that helped the health plan determine how well she met Canyon's standards. The report included cumulative performance data for Dr. Enberg and encompassed all measurable aspects of her performance. This report included such information as the number of hospital admissions Dr. Enberg had and the number of referrals she made outside of Canyon's provider network during a specified period. Canyon also used process measures, structural measures, and outcomes measures to evaluate Dr. Enberg's performance.

Canyon used a process measure to evaluate the performance of Dr. Enberg when it evaluated whether:

The Walnut Health Plan provides a number of specialty services for its members. Walnut offers coverage of alternative healthcare, including coverage of treatment methods such as homeopathy and naturopathy. Walnut also offers home healthcare services, and it contracts with home healthcare providers on a non-risk basis to the health plan. The following statements are about the specialty services offered by Walnut. Select the answer choice containing the correct statement:

The Medicaid program subsidizes indigent care through payments to disproportionate share hospitals (DSHs). The Preamble Hospital is a DSH. As a DSH, Preamble most likely:

The Foxfire Health Plan, which has 20,000 members, contracts with dermatologists on a contact capitation basis. The contact capitation arrangement has the following features:

Foxfire distributes the money in the contact capitation fund once each quarter and the distribution is based on the point totals accumulated by each dermatologist.

Foxfire's per member per month (PMPM) capitation for dermatology services is $1.

The dermatologist receives 1 point for each new referral that is not classified as a complicated referral and 1.5 points for each new referral that is classified as complicated.

During the first quarter, Foxfire's PCPs made 450 referrals to dermatologists and 100 of these referrals were classified as complicated. One dermatologist, Dr. Shareef Rashad, received 42 of these referrals; 6 of his referrals were classified as complicated. Statements that can correctly be made about Foxfire's contact capitation arrangement include:

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has integrated accreditation with Health Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS) measures into a program called Accreditation ’99. One statement that can correctly be made about these accreditation standards is that

The Octagon Health Plan includes a typical indemnification clause in its provider contracts. The purpose of this clause is to require Octagon’s network providers to

The Gladspell HMO has contracted with the Ellysium Hospital to provide subacute care to its plan members. Gladspell pays Ellysium by using a per diem reimbursement method.

The per diem reimbursement method will require Gladspell to pay Ellysium a

Assume that the national average cost per covered employee for PPO rental networks is $3 per member per month (PMPM) and that the average monthly healthcare premium PMPM is $300. This information indicates that, if the number of health plan members is 10,000, then the annual network rental cost to the health plan would be:

The Azure Health Plan strives to ensure for its plan members the best possible level of care from its providers. In order to maintain such high standards, Azure uses a variety of quantitative and qualitative (behavioral) measures to determine the effectiveness of its providers. Azure then compares the clinical and operational practices of its providers with those of other providers outside the network, with the goal of identifying and implementing the practices that lead to the best outcomes.

Qualitative measures that Azure could use to assess provider performance include an evaluation of how

The provider contract that the Canyon health plan has with Dr. Nicole Enberg specifies that she cannot sue or file any claims against a Canyon plan member for covered services, even if Canyon becomes insolvent or fails to meet its financial obligations. The contract also specifies that Canyon will compensate her under a typical discounted fee-for-service (DFFS) payment system.

During its recredentialing of Dr. Enberg, Canyon developed a report that helped the health plan determine how well she met Canyon's standards. The report included cumulative performance data for Dr. Enberg and encompassed all measurable aspects of her performance. This report included such information as the number of hospital admissions Dr. Enberg had and the number of referrals she made outside of Canyon's provider network during a specified period. Canyon also used process measures, structural measures, and outcomes measures to evaluate Dr. Enberg's performance.

The report that helped Canyon determine how well Dr. Enberg met the health plan's standards is known as:

The following statements describe two types of HMOs:

The Elm HMO requires its members to select a PCP but allows the members to go to any other provider on its panel without a referral from the PCP.

The Treble HMO does not require its members to select a PCP. Treble allows its members to go to any doctor, healthcare professional, or facility that is on its panel without a referral from a primary care doctor. However, care outside of Treble's network is not reimbursed unless the provider obtains advance approval from the HMO.

Both HMOs use delegation to transfer certain functions to other organizations. Following the guidelines established by the NCQA, Elm delegated its credentialing activities to the Newnan Group, and the agreement between Elm and Newnan lists the responsibilities of both parties under the agreement. Treble delegated utilization management (UM) to an IPA. The IPA then transferred the authority for case management to the Quest Group, an organization that specializes in case management.

Both HMOs also offer pharmacy benefits. Elm calculates its drug costs according to a pricing system that requires establishing a purchasing profile for each pharmacy and basing reimbursement on the profile. Treble and the Manor Pharmaceutical Group have an arrangement that requires the use of a typical maximum allowable cost (MAC) pricing system to calculate generic drug costs under Treble's pharmacy program. The following statements describe generic drugs prescribed for Treble plan members who are covered by Treble's pharmacy benefits:

The MAC list for Drug A specifies a cost of 12 cents per tablet, but Manor pays 14 cents per tablet for this drug.

The MAC list for Drug B specifies a cost of 7 cents per tablet, but Manor pays 5 cents per tablet for this drug.

From the following answer choices, select the response that best identifies Elm and Treble:

The following statements are about the inclusion of unified pharmacy benefits in health plan healthcare packages. Select the answer choice containing the correct statement.

During the credentialing process, a health plan verifies the accuracy of information on a prospective network provider’s application. One true statement regarding this process is that the health plan

The Sweeney Health Plan uses the discounted fee-for-service (DFFS) method to compensate some of its providers. Under this method of compensation, Sweeney calculates payments based on

Provider panels can be either narrow or broad. Compared to a similarly sized health plan that uses a broad provider panel, a health plan that uses a narrow provider panel most likely can expect to

The following statements are about the responsibilities that providers are expected to assume under most provider contracts with health plans. Select the answer choice containing the correct statement.

Open panel health plans can contract with individual providers or with various provider groups when developing their networks. The following statements are about factors that an open panel health plan might consider in contracting with different types of provider organizations. Select the answer choice that contains the correct statement.

Most health plan contracts provide an outline of the criteria that a healthcare service must meet in order to be considered “medically necessary.” Typically, in order for a healthcare service to be considered medically necessary, the service provided by a physician or other healthcare provider to identify and treat a member’s illness or injury must be

Dr. Leona Koenig removed the appendix of a plan member of the Helium health plan. In order to increase the level of reimbursement that she would receive from Helium, Dr. Koenig submitted to the health plan separate charges for the preoperative physical examination, the surgical procedure, and postoperative care. All of these charges should have been included in the code for the surgical procedure itself. Dr. Koenig's submission is a misuse of the coding system used by health plans and is an example of:

The Blanchette Health Plan uses a method of claims submission that allows its providers to submit claims directly to Blanchette through a computer application-to-application exchange of claims using a standard data format. This information indicates that Blanchette allows its providers to submit claims using technology known as

The provider contract that Dr. Nick Mancini has with the Utopia Health Plan includes a clause that requires Utopia to reimburse Dr. Mancini on a fee-for-service (FFS) basis until 100 Utopia members have selected him as their primary care provider (PCP). At that time, Utopia will begin reimbursing him under a capitated arrangement. This clause in Dr. Mancini's provider contract is known as:

Martin Breslin, age 72 and permanently disabled, is classified as dually-eligible. This information indicates that Mr. Breslin qualifies for coverage by both

The Azure Health Plan strives to ensure for its plan members the best possible level of care from its providers. In order to maintain such high standards, Azure uses a variety of quantitative and qualitative (behavioral) measures to determine the effectiveness of its providers. Azure then compares the clinical and operational practices of its providers with those of other providers outside the network, with the goal of identifying and implementing the practices that lead to the best outcomes.

The comparative method of evaluation that Azure uses to identify and implement the practices that lead to the best outcomes is known as

The following statement(s) can correctly be made about contracting and reimbursement of specialty care physicians (SCPs):

With regard to the compensation of dental care providers in a managed dental care system, it is correct to state that, typically:

State Medicaid agencies can contract with health plans through open contracting or selective contracting. One advantage of selective contracting is that it

Health plans often negotiate compensation arrangements that transfer some or all of the financial risk associated with delivering healthcare services to network providers. The following statements are about these compensation arrangements. Select the answer choice containing the correct statement.

In most health plan pharmacy networks, the cost component of the reimbursement formula is based on the average wholesale price (AWP). One true statement about the AWP for prescription drugs is that

With respect to contractual provisions related to provider-patient communications, nonsolicitation clauses prohibit providers from

The following statements can correctly be made about the advantages and disadvantages to an health plan of using the various delivery options for pharmacy services.

The Gardenia Health Plan has a national reputation for quality care. When Gardenia entered a new market, it established a preferred provider organization (PPO), a health maintenance organization (HMO), and a point-of-service product (POS) to serve the plan members in this market. All of the providers included in the HMO or the POS are included in the broader provider panel of the PPO. The POS will be a typical two-level POS that offers a cost-based incentive plans for PCPs, and the HMO is a typical staff model HMO.

One statement that can correctly be made about Gardenia’s two-level POS product is that

The Gladspell HMO has contracted with the Ellysium Hospital to provide subacute care to its plan members. Gladspell pays Ellysium by using a per diem reimbursement method.

If Gladspell’s per diem contract with Ellysium is typical, then the per diem payment will cover such medical costs as

The Ross Health Plan compensates Dr. Cecile Sanderson on a FFS basis. In order to increase the level of reimbursement that she would receive from Ross, Dr. Sanderson submitted the code for a comprehensive office visit. The services she actually provided represented an intermediate level of service. Dr. Sanderson’s action is an example of a type of false billing procedure known as

If a third party is responsible for injuries to a plan member of the Hope Health Plan, then Hope has a contractual right to file a claim for the resulting healthcare costs against the third party. This contractual right to recovery from the third party is known as

Participating providers in a health plan’s network must undergo recredentialing on a regular basis. During recredentialing, a health plan typically reviews

Dr. Janet Dubois is a radiologist who practices exclusively at the Rightway Healthcare Center. This information indicates that Dr. Dubois is employed by Rightway as

Promise, Inc., a corporation that specializes in cancer services, employs its physicians and support staff and provides facilities and ancillary services for cancer patients. Promise has contracted with the Cordelia Health Plan to provide all specialty services for Cordelia plan members who are undergoing cancer treatment. In return, Promise receives a capitated amount from Cordelia. Promise is an example of a type of specialty services organization known as a

The Gladspell HMO has contracted with the Ellysium Hospital to provide subacute care to its plan members. Gladspell pays Ellysium by using a per diem reimbursement method.

If the Ellysium subacute care unit is typical of most hospital-based subacute skilled nursing units, then this unit could be used for patients who no longer need to be in the hospital’s acute care unit but who still require

From the following answer choices, choose the term that best matches the description.

An integrated delivery system (IDS), which controls most providers in a particular specialty, agrees to provide that specialty service to a health plan only on the condition that the health plan agree to contract with the IDS for other services.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Managed Care Plan Network Adequacy Model Act defines specific adequacy and accessibility standards that health plans must meet. In addition, the Model Act requires health plans to

The following paragraph contains an incomplete statement. Select the answer choice containing the term that correctly completes the statement.

One important activity within the scope of network management is ensuring the quality of the health plan’s provider networks. A primary purpose of __________________ is to review the clinical competence of a provider in order to determine whether the provider meets the health plan’s preestablished criteria for participation in the network.

For this question, if answer choices (A) through C) are all correct, select answer choice (D). Otherwise, select the one correct answer choice.

Understanding the level of health plan penetration in a particular market can help a health plan determine which products are most appropriate for that market. Indicators of a mature health plan market include

Determine whether the following statement is true or false:

The NCQA has established a Physician Organization Certification (POC) program for the purpose of certifying medical groups and independent practice associations for delegation of certain NCQA standards, including data collection and verification for credentialing and recredentialing.

One important aspect of network management is profiling, or provider profiling. Profiling is most often used to

Four types of APCs are ancillary APCs, medical APCs, significant procedure APCs, and surgical APCs. An example of a type of APC known as