CommercialBilling CodesHigh impact
Payment Policy Material Amendment Notice
Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield·AR·Payment Policy
Effective date
Feb 1, 2026
We identified it
Jun 19, 2026
Summary
Arkansas Blue Cross has updated coding requirements for outpatient pharmacy claims and established new rules for interim billing. Effective February 1, 2026, all outpatient institutional claims with pharmacy revenue codes must include appropriate HCPCS or CPT codes or they will be denied. Additionally, acute care hospitals can only submit interim bills for stays exceeding 60 days, while psychiatric and rehabilitation facilities can submit interim bills for stays exceeding 14 days.
Action Required
Before February 1, 2026: Billing team must update claim submission processes to ensure all outpatient institutional claims (bill types 13X, 14X, 85X) with pharmacy revenue codes (025X series and 063X series) include appropriate HCPCS or CPT codes. Update billing system validation rules to require these codes or claims will be denied. For facilities submitting interim bills, update billing procedures to only submit interim bills for acute care stays exceeding 60 days (bill types 112, 113, 114) and psychiatric/rehabilitation stays exceeding 14 days.