UnitedHealthcare halted its controversial prior authorization policy for gastroenterology endoscopy services, set to start on June 1, opting instead to move forward with an advanced notification program.
Following widespread backlash from more than 4,500 gastroenterologists and patients, the insurance company announced it would postpone the prior authorization policy that would have affected more than 27 million of its beneficiaries. Instead, UnitedHealthcare plans to implement an advance notification process “for non-screening gastroenterology procedures” under its commercial plans.