Urgent after-hours prior authorization requests

A request is considered urgent if delaying treatment would:

• Put the patient's life in serious danger
• Interfere with full recovery
• Delay treatment for severe pain

No authorization needed in emergency room or observation setting

Services that generally require prior authorization, such as advanced diagnostic imaging, don't require prior authorization in an emergency room or observation setting.

Urgent/emergent hospital admissions

Participating hospitals must use our Auth Request tool to notify us of urgent/emergent admissions, deliveries and continuing stays through GuidingCare. Go to Auth Request (login required). 

Utilization Review staff review authorization requests with clinical documentation using InterQual® medical necessity criteria to issue a coverage decision.

Non-participating hospitals can fax an emergent inpatient prior authorization form.

Providers outside of Michigan that don't participate with Priority Health: The Cigna PPO* Network is our preferred network for out-of-state coverage. Please refer to the members ID card for authorization instructions.

*The Cigna PPO Network refers to the health care providers (doctors, hospitals, specialists) contracted as part of the Cigna PPO Network for Shared Administration. 

Urgent/emergent behavioral health services

See the behavioral health section.

Urgent/emergent authorizations available through eviCore

Call eviCore toll-free at 844.303.8456. They'll respond to after-hours requests within 24 hours for Commercial group, Individual and Medicaid/Healthy Michigan Plan members and within 72 hours for Medicare members.

• Genetic testing
• Advanced diagnostic imaging: CT/CTA, MRI, MRA, nuclear cardiac studies and PET scans

Their office hours are Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern Time. eviCore is closed on January 1, Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the Friday after, and Christmas day.

After-hours urgent/emergent authorizations

• Participating providers must use our Auth request tool for all authorization requests. We process urgent authorization requests within 24 hours, 7 days a week.
• Non-Participating providers and facilities with urgent, after-hours authorization requests may call us at 800.269.1260. Leave a message along with a phone number and our on-call nurse care manager will return your call within 30 minutes.