different insurance companies have different precertification requirements. Some companies only require precert for inpatient surgeries, however others require preauth for all surgical procedures. This is not a state mandated law, it is specific to each insurance company. You can not be penalized if your doctor neglected to precertify your surgery. if you had a surgical claim denied for no precertification, you are not responsible for the balance as long as you did your part as outlined by your insurance company.