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Services Rendered by a Substitute Dentist May Be Billed to TMHP Utilizing Modifier U5, Effective Jan. 1, 2018

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Note: Texas Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) and dental managed care organizations (dental health plans) must provide all medically necessary, Medicaid-covered services to eligible clients. Administrative procedures such as prior authorization, pre-certification, referrals, and claims/encounter data filing may differ from traditional Medicaid (fee-for-service) and from MCO/dental health plan to MCO/dental health plan. Providers should contact the client's specific MCO/dental health plan for details.

Effective January, 1, 2018, Texas Health Steps and Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN) Services Program dental services rendered by a substitute dentist may be billed to TMHP.

In accordance with Texas Administrative Code (TAC) rules §354.1121 and §354.1221, related to Medicaid billing for the services of substitute dentists, dentists who are temporarily absent from their practice are allowed to submit claims for reimbursement of Medicaid services rendered to their Medicaid clients by a substitute dentist.

The CSHCN Services Program will align with Texas Medicaid changes and updates for dental services rendered by a substitute dentist.

The following are conditions for reimbursement of services rendered by a substitute dentist:

  • Dentists who take a leave of absence for no more than 90 days may bill for the services of a substitute dentist who renders services on an occasional basis when the primary dentist is unavailable to provide services. Services must be rendered at the practice location of the dentist who has taken the leave of absence. A locum tenens arrangement is not allowed for dentists.
  • This arrangement will be limited to no more than 90 consecutive days. Under this temporary basis, the primary dentist (who is the billing agent dentist) may not submit a claim for services furnished by a substitute dentist to address long-term vacancies in a dental practice. The billing agent dentist may submit claims for the services of a substitute dentist for longer than 90 consecutive days if the dentist has been called or ordered to active duty as a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces. Medicaid and CSHCN accepts claims from the billing agent dentist for services provided by the substitute dentist for the duration of the billing agent dentist's active duty as a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces.
  • Providers billing for services provided by a substitute dentist must bill with modifier U5 in Block 19 of the American Dental Association (ADA) claim form.
  • The billing agent dentist may recover no more than the actual administrative cost of submitting the claim on behalf of the substitute dentist. This cost is not reimbursable by Medicaid or CSHCN.
  • The billing agent dentist must bill substitute dentist services on a different claim form from his or her own services. The billing agent dentist services cannot be billed on the same claim form as substitute dentist services.
  • The substitute dentist must be licensed to practice in the state of Texas, must be enrolled in Texas Medicaid, and must not be on the Texas Medicaid provider exclusion list.
  • The dentist who is temporarily absent from the practice must be indicated on the claim as the billing agent dentist, and his or her name, address, and National Provider Identifier (NPI) must appear in Blocks 53, 54, and 56 of the ADA claim form.
  • The substitute dentist’s NPI number must be documented in Block 35 of the ADA claim form. Electronic submissions do not require a provider signature.

Dentists must familiarize themselves with these requirements and document accordingly. Those services not supported by the required documentation, as detailed above, will be subject to recoupment.

Note: Dental services must be filed on the 2012 version of the ADA claim form.

For more information, call the TMHP Contact Center at 800-925-9126 or the TMHP-CSHCN Services Program Contact Center at 800-568-2413.