Arbitration Appeal A. If an employee grievance is not resolved at Step 2, the aggrieved employee or the PBA may, within fifteen (15) calendar days after receipt of the Step 2 response, submit a request for arbitration to the Labor Relations Office.
B. In non-disciplinary grievances, either the PBA or the Employer may request to take the issue or grievance directly to arbitration by submitting the request for arbitration to the Labor Relations Office.
C. If the parties fail to mutually agree upon an arbitrator within five (5) calendar days after the date of receipt of the arbitration request, a list of seven (7) qualified neutrals shall be requested and paid for by the moving party from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). Within fifteen (15) calendar days after receipt of the list, the parties shall meet and alternately strike names on the list, and the remaining name shall be the arbitrator. A coin shall be tossed to determine who shall strike first. Each party has the right to reject one list. The party rejecting the list shall be responsible for paying for and obtaining the next list and the above described procedures will be followed for selection from the list. If the selected arbitrator is not available for a hearing within ninety (90) days of the date the arbitrator was selected, another list may be requested by the Labor Relations Office, which will pay the fee for that particular list. If the grievant is not represented by the Union, the list of arbitrators shall be requested from the American Arbitration Association with the moving party paying whatever fees may be charged. Once a list has been obtained, the procedures detailed above shall be used for selecting an arbitrator.
D. The hearing on the grievance shall be informal and the rules of evidence shall not apply; however, to assure an orderly hearing, the rules of judicial procedure should be followed as closely as possible.
Administrative Appeals An administrative appeal is a request for us to reconsider a full or partial denial of payment for covered healthcare services for the following reasons: • the services were excluded from coverage; • we determined that you were not eligible for coverage; • you or your provider did not follow BCBSRI’s requirements; or • a limitation on an otherwise covered benefit exists. You are not required to file a complaint (as described above), before filing an administrative appeal. If you call our Customer Service Department, a Customer Service Representative will try to resolve your concern. If the issue is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may file a verbal or written administrative appeal with our Grievance and Appeals Unit. If you request an administrative appeal, you must do so within one hundred eighty (180) days of receiving a denial of payment for covered healthcare services. The Grievance and Appeals Unit will conduct a thorough review of your administrative appeal and respond within: • thirty (30) calendar days for a prospective review; and • sixty (60) calendar days for a retrospective review. The letter will provide you with information regarding our determination.
Appeals Procedure If Employee appeals to the Administrator, Employee or his authorized representative may submit in writing whatever issues and comments he believes to be pertinent. The Administrator shall reexamine all facts related to the appeal and make a final determination of whether the denial of benefits is justified under the circumstances. The Administrator shall advise Employee in writing of:
(1) The Administrator's decision on appeal.
(2) The specific reasons for the decision.
(3) The specific provisions of the Agreement on which the decision is based. Notice of the Administrator's decision shall be given within 60 days of the Claimant's written request for review, unless additional time is required due to special circumstances. In no event shall the Administrator render a decision on an appeal later than 120 days after receiving a request for a review.
Grievance and Appeals Unit See Section 9 for contact information. You may also contact the Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner’s Consumer Resource Program, RIREACH at 1-855-747-3224 about questions or concerns you may have. A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction with any aspect of our operation or the quality of care you received from a healthcare provider. A complaint is not an appeal. For information about submitting an appeal, please see the Reconsiderations and Appeals section below. We encourage you to discuss any concerns or issues you may have about any aspect of your medical treatment with the healthcare provider that furnished the care. In most cases, issues can be more easily resolved if they are raised when they occur. However, if you remain dissatisfied or prefer not to take up the issue with your provider, you can call our Customer Service Department for further assistance. You may also call our Customer Service Department if you are dissatisfied with any aspect of our operation. If the concern or issue is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may file a verbal or written complaint with our Grievance and Appeals Unit. We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint or administrative appeal within ten (10) business days. The Grievance and Appeals Unit will conduct a thorough review of your complaint and respond within thirty (30) calendar days of the date it was received. The determination letter will provide you with the rationale for our response as well as information on any possible next steps available to you. When filing a complaint, please provide the following information: • your name, address, member ID number; • the date of the incident or service; • summary of the issue; • any previous contact with BCBSRI concerning the issue; • a brief description of the relief or solution you are seeking; and • additional information such as referral forms, claims, or any other documentation that you would like us to review. Please send all information to the address listed on the Contact Information section.
Administrative Relief Executive understands that this Agreement does not prohibit Executive from pursuing an administrative claim with a local, state or federal administrative body such as the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the workers’ compensation board. This Agreement does, however, preclude Executive from pursuing court action regarding any such claim.
Claim Procedure Any Person entitled to indemnification hereunder shall (i) give prompt written notice to the indemnifying party of any claim with respect to which it seeks indemnification (provided that the failure to give prompt notice shall impair any Person’s right to indemnification hereunder only to the extent such failure has prejudiced the indemnifying party) and (ii) unless in such indemnified party’s reasonable judgment a conflict of interest between such indemnified and indemnifying parties may exist with respect to such claim, permit such indemnifying party to assume the defense of such claim with counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party. If such defense is assumed, the indemnifying party shall not be subject to any liability for any settlement made by the indemnified party without its consent (but such consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed). An indemnifying party who is not entitled to, or elects not to, assume the defense of a claim shall not be obligated to pay the fees and expenses of more than one counsel for all parties indemnified by such indemnifying party with respect to such claim, unless in the reasonable judgment of any indemnified party a conflict of interest may exist between such indemnified party and any other of such indemnified parties with respect to such claim. In such instance, the conflicted indemnified parties shall have a right to retain one separate counsel, chosen by the Holders representing a majority of the Registrable Securities included in the registration if such Holders are indemnified parties, at the expense of the indemnifying party.
Claims Procedure Any person or entity who has not received benefits under the Plan that he or she believes should be paid (the “claimant”) shall make a claim for such benefits as follows:
Submitting False Claims; Monetary Penalties The AOC shall be entitled to remedy any false claims, as defined in California Government Code section 12650 et seq., made to the AOC by the Contractor or any Subcontractor under the standards set forth in Government Code section 12650 et seq. Any Contractor or Subcontractor who submits a false claim shall be liable to the AOC for three times the amount of damages that the AOC sustains because of the false claim. A Contractor or Subcontractor who submits a false claim shall also be liable to the AOC for (a) the costs, including attorney fees, of a civil action brought to recover any of those penalties or damages, and (b) a civil penalty of up to $10,000 for each false claim.
Central Dispute Resolution Committee a) There shall be established a Central Dispute Resolution Committee (CDRC), which shall be composed of two (2) representatives from each of the central parties, and two (2) representatives of the Crown.
b) The Committee shall meet at the request of one of the central parties.
c) The central parties shall each have the following rights:
i. To file a dispute as a grievance with the Committee.
ii. To engage in settlement discussions, and to mutually settle a grievance with the consent of the Crown.
iii. To withdraw a grievance.
iv. To mutually agree to refer a grievance to the local grievance procedure.
v. To mutually agree to voluntary mediation.
vi. To refer a grievance to final and binding arbitration at any time.
d) The Crown shall have the following rights:
i. To give or withhold approval to any proposed settlement between the central parties.
ii. To participate in voluntary mediation.
iii. To intervene in any matter referred to arbitration.
e) Only a central party may file a grievance and refer it to the Committee for discussion and review. No grievance can be referred to arbitration without three (3) days prior notice to the Committee.
f) It shall be the responsibility of each central party to inform their respective local parties of the Committee’s disposition of the dispute at each step in the central dispute resolution process including mediation and arbitration, and to direct them accordingly.
g) Each of the central parties and the Crown shall be responsible for their own costs for the central dispute resolution process.
Claim Decision Upon receipt of such claim, the Plan Administrator shall respond to such claimant within ninety (90) days after receiving the claim. If the Plan Administrator determines that special circumstances require additional time for processing the claim, the Plan Administrator can extend the response period by an additional ninety (90) days for reasonable cause by notifying the claimant in writing, prior to the end of the initial ninety (90) day period, that an additional period is required. The notice of extension must set forth the special circumstances and the date by which the Plan Administrator expects to render its decision. If the claim is denied in whole or in part, the Plan Administrator shall notify the claimant in writing of such denial. The Plan Administrator shall write the notification in a manner calculated to be understood by the claimant. The notification shall set forth:
(i) The specific reasons for the denial;
(ii) The specific reference to pertinent provisions of the Agreement on which the denial is based;
(iii) A description of any additional information or material necessary for the claimant to perfect the claim and an explanation of why such material or information is necessary;
(iv) Appropriate information as to the steps to be taken if the claimant wishes to submit the claim for review and the time limits applicable to such procedures; and
(v) A statement of the claimant’s right to bring a civil action under ERISA Section 502(a) following an adverse benefit determination on review.
