UnitedHealthcare recently sent letters to members across the country mistakenly informing them that eight physicians had died, as first reported by The Minnesota Star Tribune on Oct. 7.
According to the report, letters claiming the deaths of two Minnesota physicians were dated Sept. 11. Two weeks later, members received letters addressing the mistake and confirming that both physicians remain in network.
“We apologize for an internal error which led to a small number of erroneous letters being sent to some members,” UnitedHealthcare said in a statement shared with Becker’s on Oct. 8. “We are working with the providers offices and proactively reaching out to impacted members to clarify the situation. We have also updated our processes to help prevent this type of error from occurring in the future.”
The No Surprises Act, state laws and other requirements have increasingly charged insurers with ensuring accurate directories and checking for “ghost providers,” listed providers who are out of network, unavailable or inaccessible. These providers may have inaccurate information in the directory or be out of business.
Several payers, including Elevance Health businesses and Blue Shield of California, have recently faced lawsuits over so-called ghost networks. Behavioral health ghost networks, in particular, have been the subject of multiple legal actions.
The Social Security Administration maintains a death master file, which is updated weekly and monthly, according to a Commerce Department website. However, Adam Wilson from the Berwyn Group, a consultancy that assists with death audits, told the Star Tribune that the file could be out of date by months or years.
UnitedHealthcare did not provide details regarding the timeline, the networks these clinicians served, their network status and the number of members who received letters.
At the Becker’s 32nd Annual Meeting: The Business and Operations of ASCs, taking place October 29-31 in Chicago, ASC leaders, surgeons and healthcare executives will explore strategies to drive growth, enhance operational performance, navigate reimbursement challenges and prepare for the future of ambulatory surgery. Apply for complimentary registration now.
