Complicated Idaho Medicaid (Healthy Connections), MCO, and Commercial Payer Rules
Idaho providers work across Idaho Medicaid (Healthy Connections), Blue Cross of Idaho, Regence BlueShield, SelectHealth, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan, Medicare, and commercial plans. Each program uses its own rules for prior authorizations, PCP-referral requirements, therapy limits, behavioral-health documentation, and telehealth codes. Incorrect plan selection or misapplication of MCO-specific rules often leads to unnecessary denials. Common errors include missing PCP referrals, outdated therapy caps, mismatched taxonomy entries, and inconsistent use of modifier rules. Small differences between MCOs or Medicaid programs frequently cause preventable denials when clinics apply the wrong rules.
Idaho Medicaid and MCO Policy Updates
Idaho Medicaid and MCOs regularly update coverage guidelines, age-based limits, EPSDT requirements, telehealth allowances, and modifier rules. Commercial plans like Blue Cross of Idaho, Regence, and SelectHealth also adjust billing rules throughout the year. When providers continue using outdated codes, limits, or modifiers, they face reduced units, incorrect payment rates, suspended claims, and post-payment recoupments. Therapy, pediatric, behavioral-health, and primary-care practices often struggle the most because policy changes are sometimes implemented with little notice.
Authorization and Treatment-Plan Conflicts Across Medicaid and MCOs
Authorization issues are a frequent source of denials in Idaho. Problems include mismatched CPT and ICD-10 combinations, expired therapy or behavioral-health treatment plans, missing signatures, unverified authorizations in MCO portals, incorrect units or frequencies, and outdated treatment-plan cycles. Many clinics also bill services outside approved dates or approved service mixes, resulting in partial payments or complete denials across Idaho Medicaid, Blue Cross of Idaho, Regence, SelectHealth, Medicare, and other commercial plans.
Strict Therapy, EPSDT, and Behavioral-Health Limits
Idaho enforces strict limits on PT, OT, Speech, ABA, outpatient counseling, and substance-use services, and Medicaid applies EPSDT rules for pediatric patients. Providers often encounter automatic reductions tied to age caps and service limits, denials caused by insufficient progress-note detail, incorrect modifiers for telehealth or group sessions, and treatment plans that do not reflect measurable goals. Missing or outdated therapy or behavioral-health plans create recurring denials across Medicaid and MCO plans statewide.
Coordination-of-Benefits and Plan-Assignment Problems
COB issues are common when Medicare crossover files fail, commercial plans change mid-month, or Medicaid/MCO plan assignments update late. When primary or secondary insurer information does not match the data in payer systems, clinics receive duplicate rejections, suspended secondary claims, and long delays in payment. These mismatches force repeated rebilling and extend A/R timelines for multi-site practices across Idaho.
A/R Aging From Slow Reprocessing Cycles
A/R levels rise when Idaho Medicaid or MCOs request additional documentation, push claims into extended review cycles, or require reconsiderations and appeals. Rate discrepancies, missing encounter data, and unresolved prior-authorization questions also slow the process. Therapy, behavioral-health, pediatric, and specialty practices see the longest delays, especially when claims require multi-payer coordination.
Audit Exposure From Medicaid and MCO Reviews
Audits in Idaho focus heavily on therapy and behavioral-health documentation, time-based codes, measurable goals, signed notes, medical-necessity documentation, EPSDT requirements, and encounter-reporting accuracy. Common audit triggers include missing signatures, incorrect time logs, mismatched units, outdated treatment plans, weak progress summaries, and incomplete documentation for group sessions or telehealth encounters.
Provider Enrollment and Revalidation Problems
Enrollment and revalidation errors often involve incorrect taxonomy selection, incomplete NPI linkage, missing locations, new providers not appearing on MCO or Medicaid rosters, and lapsed revalidation cycles. These issues cause “provider not enrolled,” “taxonomy conflict,” and “location inactive” denials that block claims before adjudication.
Technical Rejections From Medicaid, MCOs, and Clearinghouses
Technical rejections usually stem from incorrect plan selection, wrong taxonomy, missing attachments for behavioral-health and therapy claims, date-of-service mismatches with authorizations, and clearinghouse errors that prevent claims from reaching payers. These issues create unnecessary rework and delay revenue for providers.