Utilization management (UM) or utilization review is the use of managed care techniques such as prior authorization that allow payers, particularly health insurance companies, to manage the cost of health care benefits by assessing its medical appropriateness before it is provided, by using evidence-based criteria or guidelines.
Critics have argued that if cost-cutting by insurers is the focus of their use of UM criteria, it could lead to healthcare rationing by overzealous denial of care as well as retrospective denial of payment, delays in care, or unexpected financial risks to patients. [1]
Utilization management is "a set of techniques used by or on behalf of purchasers of health care benefits to manage health care costs by influencing patient care decision-making through case-by-case assessments of the appropriateness of care prior to its provision," as defined by the Institute of Medicine [1] Committee on Utilization Management by Third Parties (1989; IOM is now the National Academy of Medicine). [1]
UM is the evaluation of the appropriateness and medical necessity of health care services, procedures, and facilities according to evidence-based criteria or guidelines, and under the provisions of an applicable health insurance plan. Typically, UM addresses new clinical activities or inpatient admissions based on the analysis of a case. But this may relate to ongoing provision of care, especially in an inpatient setting.
Discharge planning, concurrent planning, pre-certification and clinical case appeals are proactive UM procedures. It also covers proactive processes, such as concurrent clinical reviews and peer reviews as well as appeals introduced by the provider, payer or patient. A UM program comprises roles, policies, processes, and criteria.
Roles included in UM may include: UM reviewers (often registered nurse with UM training), a UM program manager, and a physician adviser. UM policies may include the frequency of reviews, priorities, and balance of internal and external responsibilities. UM processes may include escalation processes when a clinician and the UM reviewer are unable to resolve a case, dispute processes to allow patients, caregivers, or patient advocates to challenge a point of care decision, and processes for evaluating inter-rater reliability among UM reviewers.
UM criteria are medical guidelines which may be developed in-house, acquired from a vendor, or acquired and adapted to suit local conditions. Two commonly used UM criteria frameworks are the McKesson InterQual criteria [2] and MCG (previously known as the Milliman Care Guidelines). [3]
The guidelines should reflect evidence-based care, although there may be difference between "best practice" and cost-effective acceptable care quality, with payer guidelines emphasizing cost-effectiveness. [4] Conflicts between payers and providers can arise; for example, when studies found that vertebroplasty did not improve outcomes, Aetna attempted to classify it as experimental but retracted the decision after reaction by providers. [5] Findings from a 2019 systematic review identified how guidelines for UM are often more focused on reduction of utilization than on clinically meaningful measures such as patient-reported outcomes or measures of appropriateness. [6]
Medicare issues national coverage determinations on specific treatments.
Similar to the Donabedian healthcare quality assurance model, UM may be done prospectively, retrospectively, or concurrently. [7]
Prospective review is typically used as a method of reducing medically unnecessary admissions or procedures by denying cases that do not meet criteria, or allocating them to more appropriate care settings before the act.
Concurrent review is carried out during and as part of the clinical workflow, and supports point of care decisions. The focus of concurrent UM tends to be on reducing denials and placing the patient at a medically appropriate point of care. [8] Concurrent review may include a case-management function that includes coordinating and planning for a safe discharge or transition to the next level of care.
Retrospective review considers whether an appropriate level of care was applied after it was administered. Retrospective review will typically look at whether the procedure, location, and timing were appropriate according to the criteria. This form of review typically relates to payment or reimbursement according to a medical plan or medical insurance provision. Denial of the claim could relate to payment to the provider or reimbursement to the plan member. Alternatively, the retrospective review may reflect a decision as to ongoing point of care. This may entail justification according to the UM criteria and a plan to leave a patient at the previous (current) point of care or to shift the patient to a higher or lower point of care that would match the UM criteria. For example, an inpatient case situated in a telemetry bed (high cost) may be evaluated on a subsequent day of stay as no longer meeting the criteria for a telemetry bed. This may be due to changes in acuity, patient response, or diagnosis, or may be due to different UM criteria set for each continued day of stay. At this time the reviewer may indicate alternatives such as a test to determine alternate criteria for continued stay at that level, transfer to a lower (or higher) point of care, or discharge to outpatient care.
In an integrated delivery system such as a health maintenance organization (HMO), the provider and the payer share the financial cost of care, allowing for more utilization management; the rise of utilization management in the 1980s was associated with a rise in integrated healthcare. [1] : 50
As of 2019, about 3% of large employers, including Walmart and Boeing, contracted directly with providers to care for their employees, and these arrangements can remove prior authorization entirely with capitated payments. [9]
The Mayo Clinic and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota agreed to let the Mayo Clinic have more say over emerging technologies, which are typically classified as experimental and investigational in insurer guidelines. [10]
In the United States, about 5 percent of insured employees were estimated to be affected,[ when? ] which rose rapidly to about three-quarters in 1989 [1] : 14 and became ubiquitous by 1995. [11]
In 2019, Anthem began a policy to deny emergency room visits which were deemed to be medically unnecessary, by retrospectively denying claims when the insureds visited ERs and received diagnoses which the insurer did not consider to be an emergency. [12] [13]
In the United States, in addition to voluntary self-policing by industry, various organizations are involved in regulation at the state and federal government regulation.[ citation needed ]
Denied claims can usually be appealed externally to an independent medical review by an independent review organizations (IROs).
In fully insured plans as opposed to employer-funded plans, the IRO is typically selected by state insurance commissioners, who have promulgated model laws through the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). [14] As of 2017, Alabama, Mississippi, Nebraska and North Dakota used an alternative process. [14] For employer-funded group plans which are regulated by Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), as of 2011 guidance from the insurer must have at least three separate IROs, and not steer the patient to a specific IRO. [15]
In 2010 the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act required states to have laws similar to the Uniform Health Carrier External Review Model Act by the NAIC or use an alternative federal appeal process. [14] Among other requirements, insurers must provide diagnosis and treatment codes upon request. [16]
As of 2018, in 42 states IROs must be accredited by the utilization review education and standards nonprofit URAC. [16] Notable IRO companies include the Medical Review Institute of America, Advanced Medical Reviews and AllMed Healthcare Management. [17] In 2019, it was found that a physician had impersonated another physician to conduct medical reviews. [18]
A study of health insurance market plans found less than 0.5 percent of denied claims appealed internally, and less than 1 in 10,000 appealed to external review. [19]
Regardless of appeal, a lawsuit can be filed against the insurer; in 2019, class action lawsuits were filed against UnitedHealthcare regarding proton beam therapy, which was denied as experimental [20] although later language denied it on the basis of medical necessity, which is held to a different legal standard. [17] In 2019, a federal judge ruled against UnitedHealthcare's denial of mental health coverage. [21]
The results of lawsuits have been inconsistent historically; for example, HDC-ABMT was found unproven by Fifth and Seventh Circuits while the Eighth Circuit ruled against the insurer and found it non-experimental. [22]
In 2019, UnitedHealthcare settled a class action suit on lumbar artificial disc replacement surgery, reprocessing the claims. [23]
In 2018, a state jury in Oklahoma found against Aetna's denial of proton beam therapy with a $26.5m judgment in Ron Cunningham v. Aetna; [24] much of the damages arose from insurance bad faith [25] and the company stated that it was considering an appeal. [26]
Claim denials may be due to a number of things, including contract exclusions, unproven or investigational treatments, or medical necessity. A study of payers found wide variations in denial rates and days to pay. [27] Denials can also be caused by technical errors, such as incomplete information or misspelling a name, which accounted for about half of initial denials according to a 2015 analysis. [28] The migration to ICD-10 has also increased the risk of mistakes, as these are tied to automated treatment decisions. [29] In the case of Medicare, national coverage determinations show necessary treatments for diseases, with medical guidelines of insurers playing a similar role for private companies. [29]
It has been argued that "investigational" is not an appropriate criteria for denial, since treatments are continuously under investigation. [30] Off-label use of medications is relatively common in the United States, but can be denied as unproven. [30] Expanded access laws may affect coverage for experimental treatments.
De facto denials occur when claims are not denied outright, but in practical terms are not covered because of a non-response or non-payment from a carrier. [31] [32] [33]
UM has been criticized for treating cost of care as an outcome metric, and that this confuses the objectives of healthcare and potentially reduces healthcare value by mixing up process of care with results of care. [34]
Some authors have pointed out that when cost-cutting by insurers is the focus of UM criteria, it may lead to overzealous prospective denial of care as well as retrospective denial of payment. As a result, there may be delays in care or unexpected financial risks to patients. [34]
In the United States, a health maintenance organization (HMO) is a medical insurance group that provides health services for a fixed annual fee. It is an organization that provides or arranges managed care for health insurance, self-funded health care benefit plans, individuals, and other entities, acting as a liaison with health care providers on a prepaid basis. The US Health Maintenance Organization Act of 1973 required employers with 25 or more employees to offer federally certified HMO options if the employer offers traditional healthcare options. Unlike traditional indemnity insurance, an HMO covers care rendered by those doctors and other professionals who have agreed by contract to treat patients in accordance with the HMO's guidelines and restrictions in exchange for a steady stream of customers. HMOs cover emergency care regardless of the health care provider's contracted status.
Aetna Inc. is an American managed health care company that sells traditional and consumer directed health care insurance and related services, such as medical, pharmaceutical, dental, behavioral health, long-term care, and disability plans, primarily through employer-paid insurance and benefit programs, and through Medicare. Since November 28, 2018, the company has been a subsidiary of CVS Health.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 is a United States Act of Congress enacted by the 104th United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton on August 21, 1996. It aimed to alter the transfer of healthcare information, stipulated the guidelines by which personally identifiable information maintained by the healthcare and healthcare insurance industries should be protected from fraud and theft, and addressed some limitations on healthcare insurance coverage. It generally prohibits healthcare providers and businesses called covered entities from disclosing protected information to anyone other than a patient and the patient's authorized representatives without their consent. The bill does not restrict patients from receiving information about themselves. Furthermore, it does not prohibit patients from voluntarily sharing their health information however they choose, nor does it require confidentiality where a patient discloses medical information to family members, friends or other individuals not employees of a covered entity.
Health insurance or medical insurance is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among many individuals. By estimating the overall risk of health risk and health system expenses over the risk pool, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to provide the money to pay for the health care benefits specified in the insurance agreement. The benefit is administered by a central organization, such as a government agency, private business, or not-for-profit entity.
The Cigna Group is an American multinational managed healthcare and insurance company based in Bloomfield, Connecticut. Its insurance subsidiaries are major providers of medical, dental, disability, life and accident insurance and related products and services, the majority of which are offered through employers and other groups. Cigna is incorporated in Delaware.
Medical billing is a payment practice within the United States healthcare system. The process involves the systematic submission and processing of healthcare claims for reimbursement. Once the services are provided, the healthcare provider creates a detailed record of the patient's visit, including the diagnoses, procedures performed, and any medications prescribed. This information is translated into standardized codes using the appropriate coding system, such as ICD-10-CM or Current Procedural Terminology codes—this part of the process is known as medical coding. These coded records are submitted by medical billing to the health insurance company or the payer, along with the patient's demographic and insurance information. Most insurance companies use a similar process, whether they are private companies or government sponsored programs. The insurance company reviews the claim, verifying the medical necessity and coverage eligibility based on the patient's insurance plan. If the claim is approved, the insurance company processes the payment, either directly to the healthcare provider or as a reimbursement to the patient. The healthcare provider may need to following up on and appealing claims.
The term managed care or managed healthcare is used in the United States to describe a group of activities intended to reduce the cost of providing health care and providing American health insurance while improving the quality of that care. It has become the predominant system of delivering and receiving American health care since its implementation in the early 1980s, and has been largely unaffected by the Affordable Care Act of 2010.
...intended to reduce unnecessary health care costs through a variety of mechanisms, including: economic incentives for physicians and patients to select less costly forms of care; programs for reviewing the medical necessity of specific services; increased beneficiary cost sharing; controls on inpatient admissions and lengths of stay; the establishment of cost-sharing incentives for outpatient surgery; selective contracting with health care providers; and the intensive management of high-cost health care cases. The programs may be provided in a variety of settings, such as Health Maintenance Organizations and Preferred Provider Organizations.
In U.S. health insurance, a preferred provider organization (PPO), sometimes referred to as a participating provider organization or preferred provider option, is a managed care organization of medical doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers who have agreed with an insurer or a third-party administrator to provide health care at reduced rates to the insurer's or administrator's clients.
An independent medical review (IMR) is the process where physicians review medical cases in order to provide claims determinations for health insurance payers, workers compensation insurance payers or disability insurance payers. Peer review also is used in order to define the review of sentinel events in a hospital environment for quality management purposes such as to look at bad outcomes and determine whether there was any mis-diagnosis, mistreatment or any systemic problems involved which led to the sentinel event.
Case management is a managed care technique within the health care coverage system of the United States. It involves an integrated system that manages the delivery of comprehensive healthcare services for enrolled patients. Case managers are employed in almost every aspect of health care and these employ different approaches in the control of clinical actions.
The Medicare for All Act, also known as the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act or United States National Health Care Act, is a bill first introduced in the United States House of Representatives by Representative John Conyers (D-MI) in 2003, with 38 co-sponsors. In 2019, the original 16-year-old proposal was renumbered, and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) introduced a broadly similar, but more detailed, bill, HR 1384, in the 116th Congress. As of November 3, 2019, it had 116 co-sponsors still in the House at the time, or 49.8% of House Democrats.
Consumer-driven healthcare (CDHC), or consumer-driven health plans (CDHP) refers to a type of health insurance plan that allows employers or employees to utilize pretax money to help pay for medical expenses not covered by their health plan. These plans are linked to health savings accounts (HSAs), health reimbursement accounts (HRAs), or similar medical payment accounts. Users keep any unused balance or "rollover" at the end of the year to increase future balances or to invest for future expenses. They are a high-deductible health plan which has cheaper premiums but higher out of pocket expenses, and as such are seen as a cost effective means for companies to provide health care for their employees.
Aetna Health Inc. v. Davila, 542 U.S. 200 (2004), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court limited the scope of the Texas Healthcare Liability Act (THCLA). The effective result of this decision was that the THCLA, which held Case Management and Utilization Review decisions by Managed Care entities like CIGNA and Aetna to a legal duty of care according to the laws of The State of Texas could not be enforced in the case of Health Benefit plans provided through private employers, because the Texas statute allowed compensatory or punitive damages to redress losses or deter future transgressions, which were not available under ERISA § 1132. The ruling still allows the State of Texas to enforce the THCLA in the case of Government-sponsored (Medicare, Medicaid, Federal, State, Municipal Employee, etc., Church-sponsored, or Individual Health Plan Policies, which are saved from preemption by ERISA. The history that allows these Private and Self-Pay Insurance to be saved dates to the "Interstate Commerce" power that was given the federal Government by the Supreme Court. ERISA, enacted in 1974, relied on the "Interstate Commerce" rule to allow federal jurisdiction over private employers, based on the need of private employers to follow a single set of paperwork and rules for pensions and other employee benefit plans where employers had employees in multiple states. Except for private employer plans, insurance can be regulated by the individual states, and Managed Care entities making medical decisions can be held accountable for those decisions if negligence is involved, as allowed by the Texas Healthcare Liability Act.
The public health insurance option, also known as the public insurance option or the public option, is a proposal to create a government-run health insurance agency that would compete with other private health insurance companies within the United States. The public option is not the same as publicly funded health care, but was proposed as an alternative health insurance plan offered by the government. The public option was initially proposed for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but was removed after the independent US senator for Connecticut Joe Lieberman threatened a filibuster.
Healthcare rationing in the United States exists in various forms. Access to private health insurance is rationed on price and ability to pay. Those unable to afford a health insurance policy are unable to acquire a private plan except by employer-provided and other job-attached coverage, and insurance companies sometimes pre-screen applicants for pre-existing medical conditions. Applicants with such conditions may be declined cover or pay higher premiums and/or have extra conditions imposed such as a waiting period.
There are approximately 88,000 pharmacies in the United States. Over half are located within drug stores, grocery stores, hospitals, department stores, medical clinics, surgery clinics, universities, nursing homes, prisons, and other facilities. The remaining pharmacies are considered to be independent or privately owned. The top 25 pharmacy chain stores represent about 38,000 pharmacy locations in the U.S. and employ about 149,000 on-staff pharmacists. California has 8,015 pharmacies, the most of any state. Texas, Florida, New York, and Pennsylvania round out the top five states for pharmacy locations. Nationwide, the number of community pharmacies increased by 6.3% between 2007-2015, and the number of pharmacies per 10,000 people (2.11) did not change. However, the number of pharmacies per-capita varies substantially across counties, ranging from 0 to 13.6 per- 10,000 people in 2015.
This article summarizes healthcare in California.
Prior authorization is a utilization management process used by some health insurance companies in the United States to determine if they will cover a prescribed procedure, service, or medication.
Drug utilization review refers to a review of prescribing, dispensing, administering and ingesting of medication. This authorized, structured and ongoing review is related to pharmacy benefit managers. Drug use/ utilization evaluation and medication utilization evaluations are the same as drug utilization review.
De facto denial or functional denial is a situation that can occur in health insurance and workers' compensation insurance when a claim is not denied outright, but in practical terms it is not covered. If cost reduction by an insurer is the reason for de facto denials as part of utilization management, it can lead to healthcare rationing through denials of care or coverage, delays in care, and unexpected financial risks to patients.
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