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Blue Cross Blue Shield of North DakotaCommercial · Prior Auth · Pharmacy · ND · Oncology, Hematology, Ophthalmology +3 moreHigh impact

Pharmacy Policies Available Online

Effective date
Nov 10, 2026
Identified
Sep 12, 2026

Summary

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota has revised its commercial prior authorization medical drug policies for drugs including Avlayah, bendamustine, bevacizumab, denosumab, omalizumab, Pluvicto and Sarclisa, with revisions effective November 10, 2026. Several HCPCS changes are effective October 1, 2026, including HCPCS codes J1757, J9066 and Q5173, and J3590 is discontinued for Avlayah, Ponlimsi and denosumab-adet on that date. The updates also add the number of days allowed to the Length of Authorization sections, replace specific contraindications in Universal Criteria with general FDA contraindication language, and add ICD-10 codes including C83.36 and C50.A0 through C50.A2.

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What to do

Action · 10 steps
01Revised criteria for the drugs in this update take effect November 10, 2026, including bendamustine, bevacizumab, denosumab, omalizumab, Pluvicto and Sarclisa.
02Already effective October 1, 2026: Bill Avlayah under HCPCS J1757 and stop billing J3590 for Avlayah, bill the new bendamustine hydrochloride Avyxa product under HCPCS J9066, and bill Ponlimsi and denosumab-adet under HCPCS Q5173 with J3590 discontinued for those two products.
03Already effective July 1, 2026: J3590 was discontinued for Enoby/Xtrenbo, Osvyrti/Jubereq, Boncresa and Oziltus and was removed from the policy.
04For renewal requests for osteoporosis in men and women and glucocorticoid OP, confirm that the member's fracture risk has been reassessed.
05Add ICD-10 code C83.36 for DLBCL, add D48.60, D48.61 and D48.62 for the Halaven borderline or malignant phyllodes tumor indication, and add C50.A0 through C50.A2 to the covered diagnosis codes for Halaven and Ixempra.
06Appendiceal adenocarcinoma is no longer an indication for Cyramza or Zaltrap, and ICD-10 C18.1 is removed from Zaltrap.
07Pluvicto criteria now include use of an FDA-approved PSMA PET product to identify PSMA expression in tumors.
08Ryteglo no longer includes criteria for members with a del(5q) mutation.
09Universal Criteria now state that the member does not have any FDA contraindications.
10Avlayah now includes embedded step therapy based on the MedDrive strategy.

Codes mentioned

J1757J3590J9066J9033J9999Q5173C9308C83.36C50.A0C50.A1C50.A2D48.60D48.61D48.62C18.1E08.319

Original notice

Pharmacy Policies Available Online
bcbsnd.com · Always check the source before changing claims.
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