Library: Policy
317:30-5-211.5. Repairs, maintenance, replacement, and delivery
Revised 9-12-22
(a) Repairs. Repairs to equipment that either the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) or a member owns are covered when they are necessary to make the equipment usable. The repair charge includes the use of "loaner" equipment as required. If the expense for repairs exceeds the estimated expense of purchasing or renting another item of equipment for the remaining period of medical need, payment cannot be made for the amount in excess. Repairs of rented equipment are not covered.
(b) Maintenance. Routine periodic servicing, such as testing, cleaning, regulating, and checking the member's equipment is considered maintenance and not a separate covered service. DME suppliers must provide equipment-related services consistent with the manufacturer's specifications and in accordance with all federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Equipment-related services may include, but are not limited to, checking oxygen system purity levels and flow rates, changing and cleaning filters, and assuring the integrity of equipment alarms and back-up systems. However, more extensive maintenance, as recommended by the manufacturer and performed by authorized technicians, is considered repairs. This may include breaking down sealed components and performing tests that require specialized testing equipment not available to the member. The supplier of a capped rental item that supplied the item the thirteenth (13th) month must provide maintenance and service for the item. In very rare circumstances of malicious damage, culpable neglect, or wrongful disposition, the supplier may document the circumstances and be relieved of the obligation to provide maintenance and service.
(c) Replacement.
(1) If equipment that has met the capped rental period and has been in continued use by the member for the equipment's useful life or if the item is irreparably damaged, lost, or stolen, a prior authorization must be submitted to obtain new equipment. The reasonable useful lifetime for capped rental equipment cannot be less than five (5) years. Useful life is determined by the delivery of the equipment to the member, not the age of the equipment.
(2) Replacement parts must be billed with the appropriate Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code that represents the item or part being replaced along with a pricing modifier and replacement modifier. If a part that has not been assigned a HCPCS code is being replaced, the provider should use a miscellaneous HCPCS code to bill each part. Each claim that contains miscellaneous codes for replacement parts must include a narrative description of the item, the brand name, model name/number of the item, and an invoice.
(d) Delivery. Medical supplies, equipment, and appliance products are set with usual maximum quantities and frequency limits. Suppliers are not expected to provide these amounts routinely, nor are members required to accept medical supplies, equipment, and appliance products at frequencies or in quantities that exceed the amount the member would typically use. Suppliers must not dispense a quantity of any medical supplies, equipment, and appliance product exceeding a member's expected utilization. The reordering or refilling of medical supplies, equipment, and appliance products should always be based on actual member usage. Suppliers should stay attuned to atypical utilization patterns on behalf of their members and verify with the ordering physician that the atypical utilization is warranted. Suppliers must exercise the following guidelines in regard to the delivery of medical supplies, equipment, and appliance products:
(1) For medical supplies, equipment, and appliance products that are supplied as refills to the original order, suppliers must contact the member prior to dispensing the refill. This shall be done to ensure that the refilled item is necessary and to confirm any changes/modifications to the order. Contact with the member regarding refills should take place no sooner than seven (7) days prior to the delivery/shipping date. For subsequent deliveries of refills, the supplier must deliver the medical supplies, equipment, and appliance product no sooner than five (5) days prior to the end of the usage for the current product. This is regardless of which delivery method is utilized. A member must specifically request the refill before a supplier dispenses the product. Suppliers must not automatically dispense a quantity of supplies on a predetermined basis, even if the member has authorized this in advance. The supplier must have member contact documentation on file to substantiate that the medical supplies, equipment, and appliance product was refilled in accordance with this section.
(2) For medical supplies, equipment, and appliance products that are supplied via mail order, suppliers must bill using the appropriate modifier which indicates that the medical supplies, equipment, and appliance product was delivered via the mail. Reimbursement for medical supplies, equipment, and appliance products supplied and delivered via mail may be at a reduced rate.
(3) For medical supplies, equipment, and appliance products that are covered in the scope of the SoonerCare program, the cost of delivery is always included in the rate for the covered item(s).
