UNITED HEALTHCARE COMPLETES PAYMENTS on LAWSUITS for DENYING CARE

Previous blogs covered issues with United Healthcare (UHC) denying mental health services to eligible patients (Will Mental Healthcare be as Available as  Medical Care?, New Guidelines for Parity of Care).  A lawsuit in New York state was resolved recently, when UHC completed $13.6 million in payments to patients who had been denied care. UHC is the nation’s largest health care insurer

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WILL MENTAL HEALTH CARE BE as AVAILABLE as MEDICAL CARE?

A “landmark” settlement with United Healthcare in the state of New York requires UHC to pay $14.3 million to consumers nationwide. This was the first ever joint lawsuit filed by a state (New York) and the federal government. The impacted consumers were either denied coverage or given reduced benefits for mental health and substance use disorders

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WILL INSURANCE COMPANIES CONTINUE to COVER TELEHEALTH SERVICES?

Insurance companies are moving towards reducing the benefits for telehealth services. They may be lowering reimbursement levels to pre-COVID 19 levels so that reimbursement to providers will be lower and out-of-pocket co-pays will be higher for patients.  They may also re-institute prior authorizations for services, which is a time-consuming process for providers that often discourages them from even providing service.

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