2025 Transparency Notice 

A) Non-Network Liability and Balance Billing

The Ambetter network is the group of providers, including but not limited to physicians, hospitals, pharmacies, other facilities and health care professionals, we contract with to provide care for you. If a provider is in our network, services are covered by your health insurance plan. Network providers may not bill you for covered expenses beyond your applicable cost sharing amounts (e.g., copayment amount, coinsurance amount, and/or a deductible amount).

If you receive services from a non-network provider, you may have to pay more for services you receive. Non-network providers may be permitted to bill you for the difference between what your plan agreed to pay and the full billed amount for a service. This is known as “balance billing.” This amount is likely more than network costs for the same service and might not count toward your annual maximum out-of-pocket amount limit.

When receiving care at a network hospital, it is possible that some hospital-based providers may not be network providers. If you provide notice and consent to waive balance billing protections, you may be responsible for payment of all or part of the balance bill. Any amount you are obligated to pay the non-network provider in excess of the eligible expense will not apply to your deductible amount or maximum out-of-pocket amount. 

Non-network providers should not bill you for covered services for any amount greater than your applicable network cost sharing responsibilities when balance billing protections apply to radiology, imaging and other diagnostic testing services.

Balance billing protections apply to covered services that are:

1. Emergency services provided to a member, as well as services provided after the member is stabilized unless the member gave notice and consent to be balance billed for the post-stabilization services;
2. Non-emergency health care services provided to a member at a network hospital or at a network ambulatory surgical center unless the member gave notice and consent pursuant to the federal No Surprises Act to be balance billed by the non-network provider; or
3. Air ambulance services provided to a member by a non-network provider.

B) Enrollee Claim Submission

Providers will typically submit claims on your behalf, but sometimes you may need to submit claims yourself for covered services. This usually happens if your provider is not contracted with us.

We must receive written proof of loss within 90 calendar days of the loss or as soon as is reasonably possible, but in no event, except in the absence of legal capacity, no longer than one year from the time proof is otherwise required. Failure to furnish such proof within the time required shall not invalidate nor reduce any claim if it was not reasonably possible to give proof within such time, provided such proof is furnished as soon as reasonably possible and in no event, except in the absence of legal capacity, later than one year from the time proof is otherwise required.

If you have paid for services we agreed to cover, you can request reimbursement for the amount you paid; less any deductible amount, copayment amount or cost sharing that is your financial responsibility. 

To request reimbursement for a covered service, you need a copy of the detailed claim from your provider. You will need to submit a Member Reimbursement Claim Form, which is posted at Ambetter.WellCareKy.com under “For Members,” “Form and Materials,” “Forms.” If such forms are not available on that website, we will, upon receipt of a notice of claim, furnish such form to you within 15 calendar days. Send all the documentation to us at the following address:

Ambetter from WellCare of Kentucky
Attn: Claims Department
P.O. Box 5010
Farmington, MO 63640-5010

C) Grace Periods and Claims Pending

If you do not pay your premium by its due date, you will enter a grace period. This is the extra time we give you to pay (we understand that stuff happens sometimes).

During your grace period, you will still have coverage. However, if you do not pay before the grace period ends, you run the risk of losing your coverage. During the grace period, we may hold — or pend — your claim payment.

If your coverage is terminated for not paying your premium, you will not be eligible to enroll with us again until Open Enrollment or a Special Enrollment period. So, make sure you pay your bills on time!

If you receive a subsidy payment

After the first premium is paid, a grace period of three month from the premium due date is given for the payment of premium. Coverage will remain in force during the grace period. If full payment of premium is not received with the grace period, coverage will be terminated as of the last day of the first month during the grace period if advance premium tax credits are received. 

During the first month of your grace period, we will keep paying claims for covered services you receive. If you continue to receive services during the second and third months of your grace period, we may hold these claims. If your coverage is in the second or third month of a grace period, we will notify you and your health care providers about the possibility of denied claims.

If you do not receive a subsidy payment

Premium payments are due in advance, on a calendar month basis. Monthly payments are due on or before the first day of each month for coverage effective during such month. There is a 60-day grace period. This provision means that if any required premium is not paid on or before the date it is due, it may be paid during the grace period. During the grace period, the policy will stay in force; however, claims may pend for covered services rendered to the member during the grace period. We will notify HHS, as necessary, of the non-payment of premiums, the member, as well as providers of the possibility of denied claims when the member is in the grace period. In addition, the grace period will not apply if we have notified you that the policy will not be renewed at least five calendar days before your last premium is due.

D) Retroactive Denials

"Retroactive denial of a previously paid claim" or "retroactive denial of payment" means any attempt by a carrier retroactively to collect payments already made to a provider with respect to a claim by reducing other payments currently owed to the provider, by withholding or setting off against future payments, or in any other manner reducing or affecting the future claim payments to the provider.

There are instances where claims may be denied retroactively if you: receive services from a provider or facility that is not in our network; terminate coverage with Ambetter; provide late notification of other coverage due to new coverage; or have a change in circumstance, such as divorce or marriage. This causes Ambetter to request recoupment of payment from the provider.

You can avoid retroactive denials by paying your premiums on time and in full and making sure you talk to your provider about whether the service performed is a covered service. You can also avoid retroactive denials by obtaining your medical services from a network provider.

If you believe the denial is in error, you are encouraged to contact Member Services by calling the number on the back of your member identification card.

E) Recoupment of Overpayments

If you believe you have paid too much for your premium and should receive a refund, please contact Member Services immediately at the number listed on the back of your member identification card. Refunds are processed by two methods, electronically or by a manual check. The type of refund that is issued is dependent on the method of payment. Payments made with a debit/credit card via e-Cashiering, interactive voice response (IVR) system, auto pay, member portal as well as credit card payments sent to our lockbox vendor will be refunded via e-Cashiering. Payments made via e-Check will also be refunded electronically. Payments made by check to our lockbox vendor and payments that were processed in-house at our Little Rock location must be refunded manually via paper check.

F) Medical Necessity and Prior Authorization

Services are only covered if they are medically necessary. Medically necessary services are those that:

1. Are consistent with the symptoms or diagnosis;
2. Are provided according to generally accepted standards of medical practice;
3. Are not custodial care;
4. Are not solely for the convenience of the physician or the member;
5. Are not experimental or investigational;
6. Are provided in the most cost-effective care facility or setting;
7. Does not exceed the scope, duration or intensity of that level of care that is needed to provide safe, adequate and appropriate diagnosis or treatment; and
8. When specifically applied to a hospital confinement, it means that the diagnosis and treatment of your medical symptoms or conditions cannot be safely provided as an outpatient.

Prior Authorization Required

Some covered services (medical and behavioral health) require prior authorization. Network providers must obtain authorization from us prior to providing a service or supply to a member. However, there are some network eligible expenses for which you must obtain the prior authorization.

For services or supplies that require prior authorization, as shown on the Schedule of Benefits, you must obtain authorization from us before you or your dependent member:

1. Receive a service or supply from a non-network provider;
2. Are admitted into a network facility by a non-network provider; or
3. Receive a service or supply from a network provider to which the member was referred by a non-network provider.

Prior authorization requests must be received by phone/e-fax/provider portal as follows:

1. At least five calendar days prior to an elective admission as an inpatient in a hospital, extended care facility, rehabilitation facility, hospice facility or residential treatment facility.
2. At least 30 calendar days prior to the initial evaluation for organ transplant services.
3. At least 30 calendar days prior to receiving clinical trial services.
4. Within 24 hours of an i admission for inpatient mental health or substance use disorder treatment5. At least five calendar days prior to the start of home health care.

After prior authorization has been received, we will notify you and your provider if the request has been approved as follows:

1. For urgent concurrent review within one calendar day of receipt of the request.
2. For urgent pre-service, within 24 hours of obtaining all information necessary to make the determination.
3. For non-urgent pre-service requests within five calendar days of obtaining all information necessary to make the determination.
4. For post-service or retrospective reviews, within 30 calendar days of receipt of the request.

In situations where additional information is needed to make a decision, these timeframes may be extended in accordance with applicable law. 

Failure to Obtain Prior Authorization

Failure to comply with the prior authorization requirements will result in benefits being reduced.

Network providers cannot bill you for services for which they fail to obtain prior authorization as required.

Benefits will not be reduced for failure to comply with prior authorization requirements prior to an emergency. However, you must contact us as soon as reasonably possible after the emergency occurs.

G) Drug Exceptions Timeframes and Enrollee Responsibilities

Prescription Drug Exception Process

Sometimes members need access to drugs that are not listed on the formulary. Members or providers can submit a drug exception request to us by contacting Member Services or by sending a written request to the following address:

Ambetter from WellCare of Kentucky
Attn: Member Services
13551 Triton Park Blvd., Suite 1800
Louisville, KY 40023

1. Standard exception request

A member, a member’s authorized representative or a member’s prescribing physician may request a standard review of a decision that a drug is not covered by the policy or a protocol exception for step therapy. The request can be made in writing or via telephone. Within 72 hours of the request being received, we will provide the member, the member’s authorized representative or the member’s prescribing physician with our coverage determination. Should the standard exception request or step therapy protocol exception request be granted, we will provide coverage of the non-formulary drug for the duration of the prescription, including refills or of the drug that is the subject of the protocol exception.

2. Expedited exception request

A member, a member’s authorized representative or a member’s prescribing physician may request an expedited review based on exigent circumstances. Exigent circumstances exist when a member is suffering from a health condition that may seriously jeopardize the member's life, health, or ability to regain maximum function or when a member is undergoing a current course of treatment using a non-formulary drug. The request can be made in writing or via telephone. Within 24 hours of the request being received, we will provide the member, the member’s authorized representative or the member’s prescribing physician with our coverage determination. Should the standard exception or step therapy protocol exception request be granted we will provide coverage of the non-formulary drug or the drug that is the subject of the protocol exception for the duration of the exigency.

3. External exception request review

If we deny a request for a standard exception or for an expedited exception, the member, the member’s authorized representative or the member’s prescribing physician may request that the original exception request and subsequent denial of such request be reviewed by an independent review organization. We will make our determination on the external exception request and notify the member, the member’s authorized representative or the member’s prescribing physician of our coverage determination no later than 72 hours following receipt of the request, if the original request was a standard exception, and no later than 24 hours following its receipt of the request, if the original request was an expedited exception.

If we grant an external exception review of a standard exception or step therapy protocol exception request, we will provide coverage of the non-formulary drug or the drug that is the subject of the protocol exception for the duration of the prescription. If we grant an external exception review of an expedited exception request, we will provide coverage of the non-formulary drug or the drug that is the subject of the protocol exception for the duration of the exigency.

Step Therapy Exception Process

Under Kentucky law, you or your provider have the right to request an exception to our step therapy (prior authorization) criteria. We will grant an exception within 48 hours of receiving all necessary information in following circumstances: 

1. The required prescription drug is: 
   • Contraindicated or will likely cause an adverse reaction by physical or mental harm to you.
   • Expected to be ineffective based on your known clinical characteristics and the prescription drug regimen.
2. Based on clinical appropriateness, the required prescription drug is not in your best interest because your use of the required prescription drug is expected to:
   • Cause a significant barrier to your adherence to or compliance with your plan of care.
   • Worsen your comorbid condition.
   • Decrease your ability to achieve or maintain reasonable functional ability in performing daily activities.
3. You have tried the required prescription drug while under your current or a previous health plan or another prescription drug in the same pharmacologic class or with the same mechanism of action and the prescription drug was discontinued due to lack of efficacy or effectiveness, diminished effect or an adverse event; or
4. You are stable on the prescription drug selected by your health care provider for the medical condition under consideration while under a current or previous health plan.

We will respond to requests for step therapy exemption that are complete withing 48 hours. If we do not respond within 48 hours the request will be deemed granted. 

H) Information on Explanations of Benefits

An Explanation of Benefits (EOB) is a statement that we send to members to explain what medical treatments and/or services we paid for on behalf of a member. This shows the amount billed by the provider, the issuer’s payment, and the member’s financial responsibility pursuant to the terms of the policy. We will send an EOB to you after we receive and adjudicate a claim on your behalf from a provider. If you need assistance interpreting your Explanation of Benefits, please contact Member Services.

I) Coordination of Benefits

Ambetter from WellCare of Kentucky coordinates benefits with other payers when a member is covered by two or more group health benefit plans. Coordination of Benefits (COB) is the industry standard practice used to share the cost of care between two or more carriers when a member is covered by more than one health benefit plan.

It is a contractual provision of a majority of health benefit contracts. Ambetter from WellCare of Kentucky complies with federal and state regulations for COB and follows COB guidelines published by National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).

Under COB, the benefits of one plan are determined to be primary and are first applied to the cost of care. After considering what has been covered by the primary plan, the secondary plan may cover the cost of care up to the fully allowed expense according to the plan’s payment guidelines. Ambetter from WellCare of Kentucky Claims COB and Recovery Unit procedures are designed to avoid payment in excess of allowable expense while also making sure claims are processed both accurately and timely.