Doctor groups merger a problem for patients

The recent merger of Eastern Connecticut Health Network and Waterbury physician groups caused a snafu for United Healthcare insured patients in recent weeks, forcing some to put off seeing a specialist as they couldn’t get the required referral.

United Healthcare requires its patients to get referrals from their primary care doctor for each visit to a specialist, even though some have been under the care of certain in-network rheumatologists, neurologists, or cardiologists for years.

But patients who tried to make appointments with a specialist this month were stymied, as their primary doctor couldn’t submit the referral.

Doctors told their frustrated patients that United Healthcare was not updating the information in its system. The only option was to keep the appointment with the specialist and hope the bill could be backdated, patients were told. However, there was no guarantee that it would be covered, and patients might wind up paying out of pocket.

Read more: http://www.journalinquirer.com/connecticut_and_region/doctor-groups-merger-a-problem-for-patients/article_fb52a860-c401-11e6-afb7-73b853ca3752.html