Involuntary Member Transfer or Plan Disenrollment Request
Customize your policy alerts
Sign up for wellsense_health_plan Policy PR 9.6 alerts
Get alerted when Policy PR 9.6 changes without checking for updates manually.
Monitor payer policy activity
Defines processes, requirements, and documentation for involuntary disenrollment or transfer of members from PCP panels, specialty/ancillary providers, or the Plan, applicable to Wellsense Health Plan members in specified impacted products.
No material clinical or coverage changes in this revision.
Involuntary Disenrollment and Transfer Criteria
Involuntary disenrollment and transfer criteria and process
Circumstances and required process elements for considering involuntary disenrollment or transfer.
ALL of the following
- Adverse change in the member's health status
- Member's diminished mental capacity
- Member's utilization of medical services
- Missed appointments
- Uncooperative or disruptive behavior resulting from the member's special needs (except when enrollment seriously impairs the provider's ability to furnish services)
- Member exercises treatment decisions the provider or Plan disagrees with, including declining treatment or diagnostic testing
ALL of the following
- Follow-up and communication with the member or guardian (e.g., in-person discussions, phone calls) regarding the precipitating event(s)
- Provision of reasonable accommodations as appropriate (including for individuals with mental illness, developmental disabilities, or cognitive conditions)
- Provide resources to meet member needs (behavioral health services, care management, Community Partner involvement, referrals to state agencies, housing supports or Flexible Services)
- Furnish medically necessary services to the member through at least three (3) providers before Plan-level disenrollment is considered, unless circumstances warrant immediate termination
- Work with member to ensure awareness of voluntary PCP change and Plan Selection Period or Fixed Enrollment Exception options
ALL of the following
- Plan must contact the member and assist in assigning a new PCP of the member's choice within the network or assist in finding another Specialty or Ancillary provider
- Plan must send a Planned Action Notice informing the member of the good-cause basis for transfer and the right to appeal
- If member is unreachable after three (3) documented outreach attempts (at least one written) over three (3) consecutive days, assign the member to a Plan‑selected PCP meeting access and availability requirements
ALL of the following
- If serious efforts do not resolve concerns, Plan must send an Advance Notice describing the disruptive behavior and how it has impacted the Plan's ability to furnish services
- If interim efforts fail and Plan still wishes to disenroll, send a Notice of Intent informing member of Plan's intent to request EOHHS disenrollment and concurrently submit the request and documentation to EOHHS
- Plan must include copies of the Advance Notice and Notice of Intent in submissions to EOHHS
ALL of the following
- Member retains coverage while notices and requests are processed and must be informed of grievance/appeal rights and how to provide information
- If behavior stops after notice, Plan must notify member that enrollment will continue; if behavior resumes, the process restarts
ALL of the following
- Report any Primary Care Level member transfers to EOHHS in the form and format specified by EOHHS
EOHHS review and documentation criteria
Documentation and review criteria EOHHS will use to assess involuntary disenrollment requests:
ALL of the following
- Thorough, objective explanation of the reason for the request including how the member's behavior has impacted the Plan's ability to arrange for or provide services to that member or to other members
- Statements from provider(s), including all PCPs the member was assigned to, describing their experience with the member
- Any information provided by the member (e.g., complaints, statements)
- Member age, diagnosis, mental and functional status
ALL of the following
- Description of the member's social support systems and any other relevant information
- Outline of the serious efforts to resolve the problem with the member, including provision of reasonable accommodations
ALL of the following
- Documentation of Advance Notice and Notice of Intent
- Evidence establishing that the member's behavior is not related to the use, or lack of use, of medical, behavioral health or other services
- Description of any extenuating circumstances
ALL of the following
- EOHHS will confirm receipt and review all submitted documentation and may follow up as needed
- EOHHS will determine whether the provider and Plan have demonstrated that serious efforts to work with the member were taken
- EOHHS Customer Service may attempt to contact the member up to three (3) times to allow voluntary plan change before further consideration of involuntary disenrollment
- Decision timing: as soon as practicable for urgent requests (credible threat to physical safety); within twenty (20) business days for non‑urgent requests
ALL of the following
- Send Planned Action Notice with reason and appeal rights
- MassHealth will call and assist the member to select a new plan; if unreachable after three (3) attempts over three (3) consecutive days, EOHHS will auto‑assign the member to a Plan and give a new Plan Selection Period
- Member receives a thirty (30) day Continuity of Care period
ALL of the following
- Member may not be re‑enrolled into the same PCP panel or Plan earlier than one (1) year after disenrollment; EOHHS will attempt to prevent earlier re‑enrollment though exceptions may apply
Provider Submission Requirements & Procedures
Pre-submit requirements for PCP/specialty transfers
Except in circumstances involving an immediate safety concern, providers must first make serious and reasonable efforts to work with the member to resolve the issue(s) and provide the member with at least one written notice in advance of further action. If those efforts fail and the provider still wishes to remove the member from their PCP panel or specialty/ancillary provider list, the provider must submit an Involuntary Member Transfer Request Form and a Member PCP Transfer Request form to the Plan (forms available on the Plan website).
- Attempt serious and reasonable efforts to resolve the issue with the member before initiating transfer/disenrollment
- Provide the member with at least one written notice in advance of further action
- If unresolved, submit the Involuntary Member Transfer Request Form and Member PCP Transfer Request form to the Plan
Submission content and EOHHS contact procedures
Submit involuntary disenrollment requests to EOHHS/MassHealth with thorough supporting documentation and follow contact protocols: email requests securely to Karen.Powell@MassMail.State.MA.US and the EOHHS Contract Manager, flag the message as 'High Importance,' and include 'Involuntary Disenrollment Request' in the subject; for extremely urgent situations, call the EOHHS Contract Manager.
- Include a thorough, objective explanation of the reason and how the member's behavior impacted the Plan's ability to provide services
- Attach statements from provider(s) (including all PCPs), any member-provided information, and member age/diagnosis/mental and functional status
- Provide description of social supports, outline of serious efforts and reasonable accommodations, and any other relevant information
- Include documentation of Advance Notice and Notice of Intent, demonstrate behavior is not related to medical/BH service use, and describe extenuating circumstances
- Flag email 'High Importance' and include 'Involuntary Disenrollment Request' in subject; call EOHHS Contract Manager for extreme urgency
Terms, Timing, and Re-enrollment Rules
OpenPayer is powered by Trek Health's payer performance platform. Trek continuously ingests, validates, and normalizes Transparency in Coverage data alongside payer policies and other commercial payer data to create a structured payer intelligence foundation. OpenPayer uses this foundation to deliver personalized search results, dynamically generated policy pages, and tailored policy monitoring based on each user's payers, specialties, billing codes, and areas of interest. The same intelligence powers broader payer performance workflows, including reimbursement benchmarking, contract evaluation, payer negotiations, and financial decision-making.