Jul. 22Doctors frustrated with medical claim denials issued a report card Tuesday of the nation’s largest insurers.
This is the second year of the American Medical Association’s National Health Insurer Report Card, which measures the nation’s eight largest health insurers on claim denials, timeliness, accuracy and transparency.
“We are encouraged that health insurers took the AMA’s initial report card findings seriously and made improvements, but the new results from this year’s report card shows there is still work to do,” said Dr. William A. Dolan, AMA board member.
According to the report, the percentage of medical claims denied in 2008 ranged from Medicare’s 6.9 percent to UnitedHealthcare’s 2.7 percent. The percentages improved this year, ranging from Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield’s high of 4.3 percent to Aetna’s low claim denial rate of 1.8 percent.
Paul Marchetti, head of Aetna’s National Networks and Contracting Services, said he shares the AMA’s goal and appreciates its ongoing effort to make interactions with physicians easier. Aetna has 800,000 North Texas plan members.
“We are proud of the progress we have made,” he said.
Humana’s internal report card, where the insurer grades itself, found that 94 percent of claims are paid within 14 days with more than 99 percent accuracy, said Anna Hobbs, Humana spokeswoman
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American Medical Association report card ranks insurers’ efficiency: Blue Cross Blue Shield ranks highest in denials, Aetna ranks lowest [The Dallas Morning News]
