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2024 Blue Cross and Blue Shield Service Benefit Plan - Standard and Basic Option
Section 5. Benefits

Section 5(b). Surgical and Anesthesia Services Provided by Physicians and Other Healthcare Professionals
Organ/Tissue Transplants
 
Benefit Description

Organ and Tissue Transplants


Solid organ/tissue transplants are subject to medical necessity and experimental/investigational review. For the solid organ transplants listed below, you must obtain prior approval from the Local Plan for the procedures, and you must obtain precertification for the facility. (See precertification and prior approval in Section 3.)
 
  • Heart transplant
     
  • Heart-lung transplant
     
  • Kidney transplant
     
  • Liver transplant
     
  • Pancreas transplant
     
  • Combination liver-kidney transplant
     
  • Combination pancreas-kidney transplant
     
  • Autologous pancreas islet cell transplant (as an adjunct to total or near total pancreatectomy) only for patients with chronic pancreatitis
     
  • Intestinal transplants (small intestine) and the small intestine with the liver or small intestine with multiple organs such as the liver, stomach, and pancreas
     
  • Single, double, or lobar lung transplant
    • Benefits for lung transplantation are limited to double lung transplants for members with end-stage cystic fibrosis.
       
  • Implantation of an artificial heart as a bridge to transplant or destination therapy

Standard Option - You Pay
Preferred: 15% of the Plan allowance (deductible applies)

Participating: 35% of the Plan allowance (deductible applies)

Non-participating: 35% of the Plan allowance (deductible applies), plus any difference between our allowance and the billed amount

Basic Option - You Pay
Preferred: $150 copayment per performing surgeon, for surgical procedures performed in an office setting

Preferred: $200 copayment per performing surgeon, for surgical procedures performed in all other settings

Note: Your provider will document the place of service when filing your claim for the procedure(s). Please contact the provider if you have any questions about the place of service.

Note: If you receive the services of a co-surgeon, you pay a separate copayment for those services, based on where the surgical procedure is performed. No additional copayment applies to the services of assistant surgeons.

Participating/Non-participating: You pay all charges
 
Note: Solid Organ transplants must be performed in a facility with a Medicare-Approved Transplant Program for the type of transplant anticipated. Transplants involving more than one organ must be performed in a facility that offers a Medicare-Approved Transplant Program for each organ transplanted.

Note: If Medicare does not offer an approved program for a certain type of organ transplant procedure, this requirement does not apply, and you may use any covered facility that performs the procedure.

Note: If Medicare offers an approved program for an anticipated organ transplant, but your facility is not approved by Medicare for the procedure, please contact your Local Plan at the customer service phone number on the back of your ID card.

All the following blood or marrow stem cell transplants - Prior approval is required and must be performed in a facility with a transplant program accredited by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT), or in a facility designated as a Blue Distinction Center for Transplants or as a Cancer Research Facility. See Section 3 for more information about these types of facilities.

Not every facility provides transplant services for every type of transplant procedure or condition listed or is designated or accredited for every covered transplant. Benefits are not provided for a covered transplant procedure unless the facility is specifically designated or accredited to perform that procedure. Before scheduling a transplant, call your Local Plan at the customer service phone number listed on the back of your ID card for assistance in locating an eligible facility and requesting prior approval for transplant services for the diagnoses as indicated below:

Physicians consider many features to determine how diseases will respond to different types of treatments. Some of the features measured are the presence or absence of normal and abnormal chromosomes, the extension of the disease throughout the body, and how fast the tumor cells grow. By analyzing these and other characteristics, physicians can determine which diseases may respond to treatment without transplant and which diseases may respond to transplant.
 
Benefit Description

Organ and Tissue Transplants


Allogeneic blood or marrow stem cell transplants limited to the diagnoses and stages indicated below:
 
  • Acute lymphocytic or myeloid (e.g., AML promyelocytic) leukemia
     
  • Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm
     
  • Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (e.g., T cell prolymphocytic leukemia, B cell prolymphocytic leukemia, hairy cell leukemia)
     
  • Chronic myeloid leukemia
     
  • Hemoglobinopathy (e.g., sickle cell anemia, thalassemia major)
     
  • Hodgkin lymphoma
     
  • Inherited metabolic disorders: Adrenoleukodystrophy, Globoid cell leukodystrophy (Krabbe's leukodystrophy), Metachromatic leukodystrophy, and Mucopolysaccharidosis type I (Hurler syndrome)
     
  • IPEX - immune dysregulation, polyendocrinopathy, enteropathy, X-linked syndrome
     
  • Marrow failure (e.g., severe aplastic anemia, Fanconi’s anemia, paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), pure red cell aplasia, congenital thrombocytopenia, Dyskeratosis congenita)
     
  • MDS/MPN (e.g., chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML))
     
  • Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS)
     
  • Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) (e.g., polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia, primary myelofibrosis, Hypereosinophilic syndromes)
     
  • Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (e.g., Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia, B-cell lymphoma, Burkitt lymphoma)
     
  • Osteopetrosis
     
  • Plasma cell disorders (e.g., multiple myeloma, amyloidosis, plasma cell leukemia, POEMS – (polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, monoclonal gammopathy, and skin changes syndrome)
     
  • Primary immunodeficiencies (e.g., severe combined immunodeficiency, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, hemophagocytic disorders, X-linked lymphoproliferative syndrome, severe congenital neutropenia, leukocyte adhesion deficiencies, common variable immunodeficiency, chronic granulomatous disease/phagocytic cell disorders)
     
  • Systemic mastocytosis, aggressive


Standard Option - You Pay
Preferred: 15% of the Plan allowance (deductible applies)

Participating: 35% of the Plan allowance (deductible applies)

Non-participating: 35% of the Plan allowance (deductible applies), plus any difference between our allowance and the billed amount

Basic Option - You Pay
Preferred: $150 copayment per performing surgeon, for surgical procedures performed in an office setting

Preferred: $200 copayment per performing surgeon, for surgical procedures performed in all other settings

Note: Your provider will document the place of service when filing your claim for the procedure(s). Please contact the provider if you have any questions about the place of service.

Note: If you receive the services of a co-surgeon, you pay a separate copayment for those services, based on where the surgical procedure is performed. No additional copayment applies to the services of assistant surgeons.

Participating/Non-participating: You pay all charges.
 
Benefit Description

Organ and Tissue Transplants (cont.)

Autologous blood or marrow stem cell transplants limited to the diagnoses and stages indicated below:
 
  • Acute myeloid leukemia
     
  • Autoimmune - limited to: Idiopathic (juvenile) rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis (treatment-refractory relapsing with high risk of future disability) and Scleroderma/systemic sclerosis
     
  • Central nervous system (CNS) embryonal tumors (e.g., atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor, primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNETs), medulloblastoma, pineoblastoma, ependymoblastoma)
     
  • Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (e.g., T cell prolymphocytic leukemia, B cell prolymphocytic leukemia, hairy cell leukemia)
     
  • Ewing sarcoma
     
  • Germ cell tumors (e.g., testicular germ cell tumors)
     
  • High-risk or relapsed neuroblastoma
     
  • Hodgkin lymphoma
     
  • Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (e.g., Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia, B-cell lymphoma, Burkitt lymphoma)
     
  • Osteosarcoma
     
  • Plasma cell disorders (e.g., multiple myeloma, amyloidosis, plasma cell leukemia, POEMS – (polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, monoclonal gammopathy, and skin changes syndrome)
     
  • Wilms Tumor


Standard Option - You Pay
Preferred: 15% of the Plan allowance (deductible applies)

Participating: 35% of the Plan allowance (deductible applies)

Non-participating: 35% of the Plan allowance (deductible applies), plus any difference between our allowance and the billed amount

Basic Option - You Pay
Preferred: $150 copayment per performing surgeon, for surgical procedures performed in an office setting

Preferred: $200 copayment per performing surgeon, for surgical procedures performed in all other settings

Note: Your provider will document the place of service when filing your claim for the procedure(s). Please contact the provider if you have any questions about the place of service.

Note: If you receive the services of a co-surgeon, you pay a separate copayment for those services, based on where the surgical procedure is performed. No additional copayment applies to the services of assistant surgeons.

Participating/Non-participating: You pay all charges
 
Benefit Description

Blood or marrow stem cell transplants for the diagnoses below, only when performed as part of a clinical trial that meets the transplant program prior approval criteria and the requirements listed in the bullets below.
 
  • Allogeneic blood or marrow stem cell transplants for:
     
    • Autoimmune - limited to scleroderma/systemic sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, CIDP – (chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy), and Idiopathic (Juvenile) rheumatoid arthritis
       
    • Breast cancer
       
    • Germ Cell Tumors
       
    • High-risk or relapsed neuroblastoma
       
    • Lysosomal metabolic diseases: e.g., Mucopolysaccharidosis type II (Hunter syndrome); Mucopolysaccharidosis type IV (Morquio syndrome); Mucopolysaccharidosis type VI (Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome), Fabry disease, Gaucher disease
       
    • Renal cell carcinoma
       
    • Sarcoma - Ewing sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, soft tissue sarcoma
       
  • Autologous blood or marrow stem cell transplants for:
     
    • Autoimmune disease - e.g., systemic lupus erythematosus, CIDP (chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy), Crohn's disease, Polymyositis-dermatomyositis, rheumatoid arthritis
       
    • Glial tumors (e.g., anaplastic astrocytoma, choroid plexus tumors, ependymoma, glioblastoma multiforme)
       
    • Sarcoma (e.g., rhabdomyosarcoma, soft tissue sarcoma)


Standard Option - You Pay
Preferred: 15% of the Plan allowance (deductible applies)

Participating: 35% of the Plan allowance (deductible applies)

Non-participating: 35% of the Plan allowance (deductible applies), plus any difference between our allowance and the billed amount

Basic Option - You Pay
Preferred: $150 copayment per performing surgeon, for surgical procedures performed in an office setting

Preferred: $200 copayment per performing surgeon, for surgical procedures performed in all other settings

Note: Your provider will document the place of service when filing your claim for the procedure(s). Please contact the provider if you have any questions about the place of service.

Note: If you receive the services of a co-surgeon, you pay a separate copayment for those services, based on where the surgical procedure is performed. No additional copayment applies to the services of assistant surgeons.

Participating/Non-participating: You pay all charges
 
  • Requirements for blood or marrow stem cell transplants covered only under clinical trials:
     
    • You must contact us at the customer service phone number listed on the back of your ID card to obtain prior approval (see Section 3); and
       
    • The patient must be properly and lawfully registered in the clinical trial, meeting all the eligibility requirements of the trial; and
       
    • The clinical trial must be reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board IRB of the FACT-accredited facility, Blue Distinction Center for Transplants, or Cancer Research Facility where the procedure is to be performed.

Note: Clinical trials are research studies in which physicians and other researchers work to find ways to improve care. Each study tries to answer scientific questions and to find better ways to prevent, diagnose, or treat patients. A clinical trial has possible benefits as well as risks. Each trial has a protocol which explains the purpose of the trial, how the trial will be performed, who may participate in the trial, and the beginning and end points of the trial. Information regarding clinical trials is available at http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/clinical-trials. If a non-randomized clinical trial for a blood or marrow stem cell transplant listed above meeting the requirements shown above is not available, we will arrange for the transplant to be provided at an approved transplant facility, if available.

Even though we may state benefits are available for a specific type of clinical trial, you may not be eligible for inclusion in these trials or there may not be any trials available in a FACT-accredited facility, Blue Distinction Center for Transplants, or Cancer Research Facility to treat your condition at the time you seek to be included in a clinical trial. If your physician has recommended you participate in a clinical trial, we encourage you to contact the Case Management Department at your Local Plan for assistance. Note: See Section 9 for our coverage of other costs associated with clinical trials.
 
Benefit Description

Related transplant services:

 
  • Extraction or reinfusion of blood or marrow stem cells as part of a covered allogeneic or autologous transplant
     
  • Harvesting, immediate preservation, and storage of stem cells when the autologous blood or marrow stem cell transplant has been scheduled or is anticipated to be scheduled within an appropriate time frame for patients diagnosed at the time of harvesting with one of the conditions listed in this section

    Note: Benefits are available for charges related to fees for storage of harvested autologous blood or marrow stem cells related to a covered autologous stem cell transplant that has been scheduled or is anticipated to be scheduled within an appropriate time frame. No benefits are available for any charges related to fees for long term storage of stem cells.
     
  • Collection, processing, storage, and distribution of cord blood only when provided as part of a blood or marrow stem cell transplant scheduled or anticipated to be scheduled within an appropriate time frame for patients diagnosed with one of the conditions listed in this section
     
  • Covered medical and hospital expenses of the donor, when we cover the recipient
     
  • Covered services or supplies provided to the recipient
     
  • Donor screening tests for non-full sibling (such as unrelated) potential donors, for any full sibling potential donors, and for the actual donor used for transplant

Note: See Section 5(a) for coverage for related services, such as chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy and drugs administered to stimulate or mobilize stem cells for covered transplant procedures.


Standard Option - You Pay
Preferred: 15% of the Plan allowance (deductible applies)

Participating: 35% of the Plan allowance (deductible applies)

Non-participating: 35% of the Plan allowance (deductible applies), plus any difference between our allowance and the billed amount

Basic Option - You Pay
Preferred: $150 copayment per performing surgeon, for surgical procedures performed in an office setting

Preferred: $200 copayment per performing surgeon, for surgical procedures performed in all other settings

Note: Your provider will document the place of service when filing your claim for the procedure(s). Please contact the provider if you have any questions about the place of service.

Note: If you receive the services of a co-surgeon, you pay a separate copayment for those services, based on where the surgical procedure is performed. No additional copayment applies to the services of assistant surgeons.

Participating/Non-participating: You pay all charges
 
Organ/Tissue Transplants at Blue Distinction Centers for Transplants®

We participate in the Blue Distinction Centers for Transplants Program for the organ/tissue transplants listed below.

Members who choose to use a Blue Distinction Center for Transplants for a covered transplant only pay the $350 per admission copayment under Standard Option, or the $250 per day copayment ($1,500 maximum) under Basic Option, for the transplant period. See Section 10 for the definition of “transplant period.” Members are not responsible for additional costs for included professional services.

Regular benefits (subject to the regular cost-sharing levels for facility and professional services) are paid for pre- and post-transplant services performed in Blue Distinction Centers for Transplants before and after the transplant period and for services unrelated to a covered transplant.

All members (including those who have Medicare Part A or another group health insurance policy as their primary payor) must contact us at the customer service phone number listed on the back of their ID card before obtaining services. You will be referred to the designated Plan transplant coordinator for information about Blue Distinction Centers for Transplants.
 
  • Heart (adult and pediatric)
     
  • Kidney (adult and pediatric)
     
  • Liver (adult and pediatric liver alone; adult only for combination liver-kidney)
     
  • Single or double lung (adult only)
     
  • Blood or marrow stem cell transplants (adult and pediatric) listed in this section
     
  • Related transplant services previously listed
 
Travel benefits:

Members who receive covered care at a Blue Distinction Center for Transplants for one of the transplants listed above can be reimbursed for incurred travel costs related to the transplant, subject to the criteria and limitations described here.

We reimburse costs for transportation (air, rail, bus, and/or taxi) and lodging if you live 50 miles or more from the facility, up to a maximum of $5,000 per transplant for the member and companions. If the transplant recipient is age 21 or younger, we pay up to $10,000 for eligible travel costs for the member and companions. Reimbursement is subject to IRS regulations.

Note: You must obtain prior approval for travel benefits (see Section 3).
 
Note: Benefits for intestinal, pancreas, pediatric lung, and heart-lung transplants are not available through Blue Distinction Centers for Transplants.

Note: See Section 5(c) for our benefits for facility care.
 
Benefit Description

Organ/Tissue Transplants

Not covered:
 
  • Any transplant not listed as covered and transplants for any diagnosis not listed as covered
     
  • Donor screening tests and donor search expenses, including associated travel expenses, except as previously defined
     
  • Implants of artificial organs, including those implanted as a bridge to transplant and/or as destination therapy, other than medically necessary implantation of an artificial heart as previously described
     
  • Allogeneic pancreas islet cell transplantation
     
  • Travel costs related to covered transplants performed at facilities other than Blue Distinction Centers for Transplants; travel costs incurred when prior approval has not been obtained; travel costs outside those allowed by IRS regulations, such as food-related expenses


Standard Option - You Pay
All charges

Basic Option - You Pay
All charges