{"id":6947,"date":"2024-05-28T21:39:27","date_gmt":"2024-05-28T21:39:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=6947"},"modified":"2024-05-28T22:25:46","modified_gmt":"2024-05-28T22:25:46","slug":"senators-see-possible-conflicts-of-interest-in-health-care-pricing-tools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=6947","title":{"rendered":"Senators See Possible Conflicts of Interest in Health Care Pricing Tools"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A data analytics firm that helps insurers collect big fees while leaving some patients with unpaid bills has been summoned to explain its business model.<\/p>\n

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The chairmen of two Senate committees overseeing health policy, concerned about companies \u201cpadding their own profits\u201d at the expense of patients, are looking into the practices of a data analytics firm that works with big insurers to cut payments to medical providers.<\/p>\n

The firm, MultiPlan, recommends what it says are fair payments for medical care, but the firm and the insurers can collect higher fees when payouts are lower. This business model could \u201cresult in an improper conflict of interest,\u201d the chairmen of the two committees, Ron Wyden of Oregon and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, wrote in a letter to the firm\u2019s chief executive<\/a> that was released on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The senators called on MultiPlan to meet with the committees\u2019 staffs to discuss an investigation<\/a> last month by The New York Times that found the firm\u2019s pricing tools could leave patients with unexpectedly large bills when they see doctors outside their health plans\u2019 networks.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur committees are engaged in ongoing legislative work to put a stop to practices by plan service providers that drive up health care costs for consumers while padding their own profits,\u201d the letter to Travis Dalton, the MultiPlan chief executive, said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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In a statement, MultiPlan said it was working with the Senate committees \u201cto address their questions and explain the cost and complexity patients can face\u201d when choosing high-priced care outside their networks. \u201cWe are committed to helping make health care transparent, fair and affordable for all,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

The committees\u2019 inquiry reflects growing scrutiny of the New York-based firm, which has largely remained out of the limelight even as it has staked out a dominant position in a lucrative corner of health care.<\/p>\n

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A data analytics firm that helps insurers collect big fees while leaving some patients with unpaid bills has been summoned to explain its business model.The chairmen of two Senate committees overseeing health policy, concerned about companies \u201cpadding their own profits\u201d at the expense of patients, are looking into the practices of a data analytics firm that works with big insurers to cut payments to medical providers.The firm, MultiPlan, recommends what it says are fair payments for medical care, but the firm and the insurers can collect higher fees when payouts are lower. This business model could \u201cresult in an improper conflict of interest,\u201d the chairmen of the two committees, Ron Wyden of Oregon and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, wrote in a letter to the firm\u2019s chief executive that was released on Tuesday.The senators called on MultiPlan to meet with the committees\u2019 staffs to discuss an investigation last month by The New York Times that found the firm\u2019s pricing tools could leave patients with unexpectedly large bills when they see doctors outside their health plans\u2019 networks.\u201cOur committees are engaged in ongoing legislative work to put a stop to practices by plan service providers that drive up health care costs for consumers while padding their own profits,\u201d the letter to Travis Dalton, the MultiPlan chief executive, said.In a statement, MultiPlan said it was working with the Senate committees \u201cto address their questions and explain the cost and complexity patients can face\u201d when choosing high-priced care outside their networks. \u201cWe are committed to helping make health care transparent, fair and affordable for all,\u201d the statement said.The committees\u2019 inquiry reflects growing scrutiny of the New York-based firm, which has largely remained out of the limelight even as it has staked out a dominant position in a lucrative corner of health care.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0log into\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0subscribe\u00a0for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?\u00a0Log in.Want all of The Times?\u00a0Subscribe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6949,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6947"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6947\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6950,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6947\/revisions\/6950"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}