Docs Protest as Insurers Trim Advantage Networks in Reaction to Rate Reductions

Dr. Mitchell Lipton learned that he might lose up to 25% of his patients when he received letters from UnitedHealthcare and EmblemHealth informing him that he was being terminated from their Medicare Advantage networks as of Jan. 1.

“Over a thousand patients are affected,” said Lipton, a solo practice internist and cardiologist in Brooklyn. “My staff is afraid someone is going to get fired.”

Many physicians around the country are getting notices from Advantage plans that they are being cut from private insurers' networks. In addition, some insurers have announced they are reducing their Advantage plan offerings in some states, trimming extra benefits and increasing patient cost sharing. UnitedHealthcare is shrinking its Advantage networks to 85% to 90% of their current size, said Jack Larsen, CEO of UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement.

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Source: Modern Healthcare