Posted: Sep 13,
2018 09:34 PM CDT
Updated: Sep 13,
2018 09:34 PM CDT
349
AUSTIN (KXAN) — About 5,000 Medicare Advantage
patients in Central Texas say they've suddenly been cut off from their go-to
doctors.
Austin Regional Clinic told us they knew they wouldn't
be an in-network provider with United Healthcare for Medicare Advantage
patients beginning next year.
ARC expanded some programs, and those changes led to
ARC and United Healthcare respectfully and mutually deciding to end their
contract.
United Healthcare told us ARC providers remain in
their network and are available through their directories for the remainder of
the 2018 year.
However, that's not what K.C. Cerny and other
patients experienced this week.
Cerny said he's been seeing Dr. Anas Daghestani
at ARC for about a decade.
"It's more than comfort," Cerny said
while explaining why he likes seeing the same doctor. "I come from a
family that has a history of a variety of chronic diseases, and so having an
internist who is familiar with the early onset of cardiac and other
complications that have run in my family, [that is] something that's
important to me."
He said he received a letter from United Healthcare
this week, saying he's been assigned a new doctor beginning October 1st.
He has an appointment with Daghestani coming up in
December, so he said he called United Healthcare.
"I said, you know I'd like to stay with Dr.
Daghestani through the end of the contract, I don't want to see somebody
else," he said. "The woman says I should be able to help you with
that. I get put on hold. Some minutes later, she returns and says I will
not be able to re-assign you to Dr. Daghestani."
"Really what caught us off guard is the quick
cutoff of patients from their physicians," said Daghestani, who's also
President and CEO of ARC. "Losing access to their doctor in a period
of 2-3 days, it's just not right. Not ethical. We're very concerned about
it."
He said the patients affected are 65 or older, often
dealing with chronic illnesses or at higher risk of other diseases.
"It's our father, mother, grandfather,
grandmother," he said. "They tend to have more diabetes, more heart
failure. More active conditions. You just can't take a vulnerable
population, a population that is more dependent on access to their physicians
than probably any other population, and then expect them over a week, to
readjust, find a new doctor."
Daghestani said the contract is clear Medicare
Advantage patients should have access to their ARC doctors through the end of
the year.
In this situation, if those patients want to stay with
ARC in 2019, they'll have to choose a different plan when open enrollment
begins. Daghestani says the patients will learn what their options are on
October 1st.
"You probably don't trust anybody managing your
financial asset, and you're very engaged," Daghestani said. "You
should be as engaged around your most important asset, which is your
health."
When asked about the contract that will end on
December 31st, 2018, UHC said, “We are disappointed with ARC’s decision to end
its participation in our network. Our top priority is ensuring our members
transition smoothly and have continued access to the care they need.”
Copyright 2018 Nexstar
Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
No comments:
Post a Comment