MEDICARE PART C: Humana Used A.I. Tool from UnitedHealth to Deny Medicare Advantage Claims

LAWSUIT

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Humana Used AI Tool from UnitedHealth to Deny Medicare Advantage Claims 

Humana used an artificial intelligence tool owned by UnitedHealth Group to wrongfully deny Medicare Advantage [Part C] members’ medical claims, according to a class-action complaint filed on Dec. 12th. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky and is the latest legal action against major insurers such as UnitedHealthcare and Cigna for allegedly using automated data tools to wrongfully deny members’ claims.

The complaint against Humana, the country’s second-largest Medicare Advantage insurer, accuses the company of using an AI tool called nH Predict to determine how long a patient will need to remain in post-acute care and overrides physicians’ determinations for the patient. The plaintiffs claim Humana set a goal to keep post-acute facility stay lengths for MA members within 1% of nH Predict’s estimations. Employees who deviate from the algorithm’s estimates are “disciplined and terminated, regardless of whether a patient requires more care,” the lawsuit alleges. When decisions made by the algorithm are appealed, they are allegedly overturned 90% of the time.

Source: Jakob Emerson  Becker’s Payer Issues [12/13/23]

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UnitedHealth Group’s Physician Acquisition Efforts Accelerate

By Health Capital Consultants, Inc

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On February 22, 2023, UnitedHealth Group’s (UHG’s) Optum division, the health insurance giant’s care delivery arm, acquired Crystal Run Healthcare, a New York based physician group of almost 400 physicians, nurse practitioners, and other providers

. CITE: https://www.r2library.com/Resource

This significant move is just the latest in UHG’s concerted effort over the past few years to acquire outpatient providers, surgery centers, and physician groups. This Health Capital Topics article will briefly survey some of the insurer’s recent acquisitions and initiatives to expand their physician services network. (Read more…)

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PODCAST: United Health Group Acquisition of “Change Healthcare”

A DATA GOLDMINE

By Eric Bricker MD

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HIT: https://www.amazon.com/Dictionary-Health-Information-Technology-Security/dp/0826149952/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254413315&sr=1-5

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PODCAST: Optum – The $101 Billion Division of United Health Group Explained

By Eric Bricker MD

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PODCAST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHAr0s33Gns

RELATED: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-21-h5lZBEU

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“For-Profit” Medicare Advantage Plan Growth

By Staff Reporters

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Chartis: For-Profit Medicare Advantage Plan Growth 2022

 •  UnitedHealth Group: 765K new lives
 •  Centene Corporation: 338K new lives
 •  CVS Health/Aetna: 323K new lives
 •  Humana: 315K new lives
 •  Bright Health: 109K new lives

Source: The Chartis Group, “Medicare Advantage Enrollment Continues to Surge in an Increasingly Complex and Competitive Landscape,” February 2022

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PODCAST: United Health Group “Harmony” Network?

UHG Uses Those Doctors for their NEW Harmony Network That They Sell as an HMO Insurance Product to Employers.

United Health Group Has Bought Physician Practices in Southern California Totaling 6,500 Doctors, Associated with 133 Hospitals.

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