Name of Manual - Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota

Release of Medical
Records
Provider Assistance
Requested
Medical Records
Management Process
Improvement
Claims Filing
The Minnesota Statute that states “consent for the release of
medical records are valid for only one year,” also provides that
consents to release medical records to insurers for purposes of
claims payment do not expire after one year. Since there are
circumstances where such consents are only valid for one year,
providers may wish to update their records on an annual basis.
Providers are reminded that:
Provider contracts state “The provider shall promptly furnish
any additional information that Blue Cross or the Plan sponsor
shall reasonably request as necessary to respond to claims.”
HIPAA considers release of such records as required for
“business operations.”
ARIs are required under Minnesota law.
Providers should gather information from patients on an annual
basis to facilitate timely processing of patient claims.
Blue Cross is improving its medical records management process
to better serve you.
Reduced requests - Changes to the Blue Plan internal medical
records procedures will eliminate unnecessary medical record
requests and expedite claims processing for members from
other Blue Plans.
Clearer instructions - A form will accompany all medical
record requests to facilitate claims processing. The form should
be returned with the requested records.
Verify Member Identity Blue Cross has received a number of calls from our members who
have stated that they did not receive certain services that were
billed under their subscriber identification number.
Upon comparing consent for treatment forms with signatures on
file it appears that such services were provided to an imposter.
In order to prevent this occurrence, providers should take
appropriate steps to verify a member’s identity, such as viewing a
government issued identification card and a Blue Cross member
ID card at each encounter.
If you suspect fraudulent use of a member ID card, please call our
fraud hotline at (651) 662-8363. You may remain anonymous.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Provider Policy and Procedure Manual (05/10/12) 8-33