June 29, 2022
In 2020, the Department of Labor issued a notice to health plans and administrators that normal timely filing periods for appeals and external reviews would be extended through the National Emergency. Since that time, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana has accepted appeals past the normal timely filing period but within the window of the National Emergency from both members and providers, even though provider appeals weren’t required by the notice.
What this means to you: Effective Sept. 1, 2022, provider-filed appeals will return to normal processing timelines. We are not making changes to member and Member Authorized Representative–filed appeals at this time.