The American Gastroenterological Association issued a statement Dec. 20 objecting to UnitedHealthcare's advance notification program for gastrointestinal endoscopy procedures and its proposed gold card prior authorization program planned for 2024.
UnitedHealthcare launched its advance notification policy in June; the AGA in July expressed concern regarding the changes and in August sent a letter to UHC requesting clarification on that policy as well as the gold card program.
The AGA said in its most recent statement that it has "expressed strong concerns regarding the 2024 implementation of UHC's prior authorization program for GI procedures, citing a lack of transparency, inadequate justification and negative impacts on patient care."
The AGA said it has urged UnitedHealthcare to reconsider its policies but said the payer has yet to respond.
The AGA is calling for UHC to "provide clarity to patients and providers and ultimately reverse plans to impose a prior authorization policy for colonoscopies and endoscopies in 2024."
A UnitedHealthcare spokesperson told Becker's on Dec. 20: "We haven't made any changes to our policy regarding screening colonoscopies for preventive care and we haven't announced any plans to introduce prior authorization for non-screening GI procedures in 2024."