EXPANDS SCOPE OF CLAIMS SUBJECT TO “HEALTH CLAIMS AUTHORIZATION, PROCESSING AND PAYMENT ACT,” AND MODIFIES CERTAIN CLAIMS PROCEDURES. This bill expands the scope of claims subject to sections 3 through 7 of the “Health Claims Authorization, Processing and Payment Act” to include prompt authorization for claims involving benefits provided by occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech-language pathologists. This bill reduces the time frame under which a carrier or organized delivery system shall respond to a health care provider’s request for authorization to provide services to a covered person, in those instances when the carrier or organized delivery system is initially unable to approve or deny a request for authorization because of the need for additional information, and requests this additional information from the health care provider. The carrier or organized delivery system, upon receipt of any additional information, shall respond within three days to the requesting health care provider, instead of the 15 days as currently provided under the law.