As my colleague Joey Rettino wrote earlier this week, health insurance companies’ provider networks are plagued with ghosts, especially when it comes to mental and behavioral health.
As a VP over revenue cycle for a midwestern hospital system, I really feel this. The delays are unbelievable these days. You have the pre-service reviews (prior authorizations), then post-service but pre-paying reviews (like in this piece), then post-payment reviews...it's just a constant battle to get money in the door and your only real recourse is to either cancel the contract or you could request interest on the delayed payments but that's pennies to a company liked United
There is no doubt the insurance industry and the public essentially collude to minimize the resources allocated to mental health care. The public contributes to the problem because most people consider themselves to be mentally OK and they do not like to pay for others mental health problems.
I do want to pick one nit. The letter from the psychologists and psychiatrists states...."at a time when the nation is in the grips of a mental health crisis." This attempts to magnify the urgency of the current situation by stating we are in a crisis. Many people are in crisis but the problem for society is a chronic one, not an unexpected explosion of mental illness. We do not help our credibility by exaggerating or misstating the issue.
Y’all- what are we going to do about United? UHG employs 10% of doctors and other providers, they have vertically consolidated the entire chain and they still persist with bullshit business practices like post service reviews.
We better hope we get to keep Lina Khan at the FTC to fight the antitrust battle to bust up insurance corporations’ chokehold on American health care.There’s room for fair payment of us all, with premiums and federal/state support, but not if the INSCOs take more than their share AND refuse to reimburse services already performed.
They must be forced to pay- and Lina is the enforcer💪
. You’re just a number . This company would be better served if they just put up a billboard that says “ Your just a number to us. We sold you some bad faith insurance and you were stupid enough to buy it. “ or are you an employer who hates your employees. We suggest you sign on with UHG so the message is clear. Nothing says I care like high monthly payments, copays and deductibles . And the icing on the cake will be nothing will be covered . That teach them to be sick .
As a VP over revenue cycle for a midwestern hospital system, I really feel this. The delays are unbelievable these days. You have the pre-service reviews (prior authorizations), then post-service but pre-paying reviews (like in this piece), then post-payment reviews...it's just a constant battle to get money in the door and your only real recourse is to either cancel the contract or you could request interest on the delayed payments but that's pennies to a company liked United
There is no doubt the insurance industry and the public essentially collude to minimize the resources allocated to mental health care. The public contributes to the problem because most people consider themselves to be mentally OK and they do not like to pay for others mental health problems.
I do want to pick one nit. The letter from the psychologists and psychiatrists states...."at a time when the nation is in the grips of a mental health crisis." This attempts to magnify the urgency of the current situation by stating we are in a crisis. Many people are in crisis but the problem for society is a chronic one, not an unexpected explosion of mental illness. We do not help our credibility by exaggerating or misstating the issue.
Mark Brakke, MD
MN
Y’all- what are we going to do about United? UHG employs 10% of doctors and other providers, they have vertically consolidated the entire chain and they still persist with bullshit business practices like post service reviews.
We better hope we get to keep Lina Khan at the FTC to fight the antitrust battle to bust up insurance corporations’ chokehold on American health care.There’s room for fair payment of us all, with premiums and federal/state support, but not if the INSCOs take more than their share AND refuse to reimburse services already performed.
They must be forced to pay- and Lina is the enforcer💪
We need an INSCO police
. You’re just a number . This company would be better served if they just put up a billboard that says “ Your just a number to us. We sold you some bad faith insurance and you were stupid enough to buy it. “ or are you an employer who hates your employees. We suggest you sign on with UHG so the message is clear. Nothing says I care like high monthly payments, copays and deductibles . And the icing on the cake will be nothing will be covered . That teach them to be sick .