May 17, 2012
Maryland has a unique online forum for healthcare providers to file complaints with the Attorney General’s Health Education and Advocacy Unit and the Maryland Insurance Administrator. On April 30, 2012, the Maryland State Medical Society (MedChi) and Maryland Attorney General Gansler joined together in announcing a new website, “Insurance Watch,” where providers can file complaints against abusive insurance carrier practices. According to the MedChi website, Insurance Watch was created “to help Maryland physicians register complaints […] about health insurer practices that jeopardize patient health and interfere with care.” Reasons for complaints range from individual patient cases, in which an insurance carrier inappropriately refuses coverage of a patient’s medical care, to more systematic problems that are seen across a provider’s practice (such as severe claims processing delays, unreasonable prior authorization requirements, systematic claim denials, inappropriate claim edits, et cetera). By using this free and accessible forum, providers can register their complaints with either the Attorney General (for patient-specific problems) or the Maryland Insurance Administrator (for systematic problems), and MedChi will in turn tract the complaint and notify the appropriate elected officials. Maryland’s healthcare providers have an excellent opportunity to voice their complaints and feel empowered to stand up to insurance companies with the support of local state agencies, legislators, and fellow practitioners.
Please click here to read the full press-release from MedChi.
