8.4​Payment for Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kits

A health care provider is eligible to be paid for a sexual assault medical forensic examination under this section only if that examination” meets the criteria set out in MCL 18.355a. MCL 18.355a(1). However, “[a] health care provider shall not submit a bill for any portion of the costs of a sexual assault medical forensic examination, to the victim of the sexual assault, including the administration of a sexual assault evidence kit, to the victim of the sexual assault, including any insurance deductible or co-pay, denial of claim by an insurer, or any other out-of-pocket expense.” MCL 18.355a(2).

If a health care provider seeks payment for a sexual assault medical forensic examination, the health care provider must comply with an established process:

•​The health care provider must “[a]dvise the victim, orally and in writing, that a claim shall not be submitted to his or her insurance carrier without his or her express written consent, and that he or she may decline to consent if he or she believes that submitting a claim to the insurance carrier would substantially interfere with his or her personal privacy or safety.” MCL 18.355a(3)(a).

•​If the victim consents to the submission of a claim to an insurance provider the health care provider must submit to the insurance provider a claim for the expense of a sexual assault medical forensic examination. MCL 18.355a(3)(b). The insurance provider may be Medicaid or Medicare or another authorized insurance provider. Id.

•​If the health care provider cannot get reimbursement from the victim’s insurance or insurance is not available, the health care provider may seek payment from the Crime Victim Services Commission (CVSC), or another entity that is not the victim, or both. MCL 18.355a(4).

•​If the victim’s insurance carrier or another entity reimburses the health care provider for a sexual assault medical forensic examination, the health care provider is prohibited from submitting to the CVSC any part of the claim that is reimbursable by the insurance carrier or another entity. MCL 18.355a(5); MCL 18.355a(6).