Charges for Personal Protective Equipment by Participating Providers

The New York Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) recently issued a circulator letter, “Charges for Personal Protective Equipment by Participating Providers”. In support with the letter, Empire BlueCross BlueShield (“Empire”) is sharing with participating providers their responsibilities and working with providers to report the findings to DFS.

 

Participating providers are contractually prohibited from charging additional fees for personal protective equipment (PPE) to Empire members as part of their in-person visits. Providers can only charge members for services covered in the policies and/or contracts. Members are not responsible for any charges received from a participating provider beyond their applicable deductible, copayment, or coinsurance, including any fees charged for PPE.

 

If participating providers charged an Empire member for PPE, they should issue a refund to members immediately and contact your Empire Network Services representative to report the following:

• Member(s) impacted
• Total refunded to member(s)
• The refund process

 

You can find the full notification from the New York Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) here: https://www.dfs.ny.gov/industry_guidance/circular_letters/cl2020_14

 

655-1020-PN-NY