CommercialAdministrativeHigh impact
Guidelines for requesting point-of-service payment and maintaining patient credit card information
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island·RI·Provider Update
Effective date
Jun 1, 2026
We identified it
Jun 19, 2026
Summary
BCBSRI prohibits providers from collecting upfront payments from members with deductibles and requires automatic refunds when final adjudication shows overpayment, without waiting for member requests. Refunds must be processed timely and returned to the original payment source.
Action Required
Immediately: Front desk staff must stop collecting upfront payments from BCBSRI members with deductibles. Billing team must establish automated refund process to issue overpayment refunds within 30 days of receiving remittance advice, without requiring member requests. Configure billing system to track original payment methods and process refunds to original source. Train staff on new payment collection restrictions.