Starting Oct. 1, 2026, UnitedHealthcare will eliminate advance-notification requirements for select GI endoscopy procedures—including EGD, capsule endoscopy, and diagnostic and surveillance colonoscopy—for commercial and Oxford plan members. The insurer will also end site-of-service medical-necessity reviews for GI procedures performed in hospital outpatient settings, including screening colonoscopy.
The move reverses the notification process UHC introduced after withdrawing its controversial 2023 prior-authorization proposal and comes as part of a broader effort to reduce utilization-management requirements. UHC has separately announced that roughly 1,700 codes will come off prior authorization across its plans, following its commitment to reduce remaining prior-authorization volume by 30% by the end of 2026. For GI practices, the change could remove a significant layer of administrative work: AGA previously documented reports of practices spending 5–7 minutes per patient on notification entries, with some large practices reporting 25%–35% increases in workload and dedicating full-time staff to UHC requirements.