108C-13. Certain waivers of Medicaid and Health Choice co-payments prohibited.

(a) No provider that has obtained a permit pursuant to G.S. 90-85.21 or G.S. 90-85-21A shall waive the collection of co-payments owed by recipients of Medicaid and Health Choice, as required by the respective program, with the intent to induce recipients to purchase, lease, or order items or services from the permitted provider. For enforcement purposes, a permitted provider that waives a co-payment owed by a recipient of Medicaid or Health Choice is in violation of this subsection regardless of the monetary amount that is waived by the permitted provider. A permitted provider shall not be in violation of this subsection if the provider waives a co-payment owed by a recipient of Medicaid or Health Choice for any of the following reasons:

(1) The waiver is authorized under the Medical Assistance Program or the North Carolina Health Insurance Program for Children.

(2) The permitted provider determines on an individual basis that the collection of the co-payment amount would create a substantial financial hardship for the recipient, provided the waiver of co-payments is not a regular business practice of the provider. For the purposes of this subdivision, a provider shall be considered engaged in the regular business practice of waiving co-payments if the permitted provider holds himself or herself out to recipients as waiving required co-payments.

(3) The permitted provider has made a good-faith effort to collect the co-payment amount, but the permitted provider's reasonable collection efforts fail.

(4) The permitted provider is a health care facility regulated pursuant to Chapter 131E or Chapter 122C of the General Statutes or that is owned or operated by the State of North Carolina.

(b) A violation of this section shall result in suspension or termination by the Department of a permitted provider's participation in Medicaid and Health Choice in accordance with administrative sanctions and remedial measures established by the Department for violations of this section.