Several major payers have faced criticism in 2023 for reimbursement and prior authorization changes within the gastroenterology space.
As several new changes are set to take effect in the early months of 2024, physicians, including Omar Khokhar, MD, gastroenterologist at Illinois GastroHealth in Elgin, are holding out hope that the new year might see more successful payer negotiations.
"I would love to see payers and clinicians sit down at a table and have a conversation about the benefit of early endoscopy for diagnosis and screening," Dr. Khokhar told Becker's. "In particular, how EGD/colonoscopy can potentially prevent patient morbidity and decrease downstream cost to the healthcare system. Yes, endoscopy isn't cheap, but cancer is a bad diagnosis and is more expensive. I would welcome that holistic approach."