5,000 Medicare patients shut out from Austin Regional Clinic
Julie Chang @JulieChang1
Sep 21, 2018 at 12:01 AM Dec 12, 2018 at 10:44 AM
A contract dispute between Austin Regional Clinic and UnitedHealthcare has left an estimated 5,000 Medicare patients without access to their physicians, according to clinic officials.
Patients who are enrolled in UnitedHealthcare's Medicare Advantage plan were notified through mail by the insurance company last week that Austin Regional Clinic would no longer be in their network starting next year, clinic officials say. However, patients received another letter from the company that said as of Oct. 1, they had been assigned a new physician with a provider group that UnitedHealthcare owns and manages.
Norman Chenven, founding chief executive officer of Austin Regional Clinic, said that UnitedHealthcare also prematurely kicked Austin Regional Clinic physicians out of the insurance company's computer system and effectively, out of its network, violating terms of their contract.
"This was a sneak attack," he said. "We love United, but what they have done in this instance is really what we believe is extremely bad form because they're jeopardizing people's health care by introducing a lot of confusion and fear. Some of these patients have been with our doctors for 38 years, many over 30 years. For them to get letters saying as of Oct. 1, you can't see Dr. Merryman anymore and you have to see Dr. Jones who you've never heard of and you don't know where his office is, that's crazy and there was no reason for that."
Read more about the contract dispute and its impact to Austin Regional Clinic's Medicare patients at MyStatesman.com.