STAT+: UnitedHealthcare drops remote monitoring coverage in defiance of Medicare policies
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Beginning in January, UnitedHealthcare will no longer pay physicians to remotely monitor the data that patients collect at home about chronic conditions like hypertension.<\/p>\n
The updated medical policies<\/a> for both Medicare and commercial health plans from the country\u2019s largest insurer were posted in September and apply to most of the remote physiologic monitoring (RPM) of patient conditions using devices like blood pressure cuffs and scales. The policy states that RPM \u201cis not reasonable and necessary due to insufficient evidence of efficacy\u201d for a wide swath of conditions including high blood pressure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depression, diabetes, and more. By exception, UnitedHealthcare said it will pay physicians to monitor heart failure as well as hypertensive disorders during pregnancy.<\/p>\n UnitedHealthcare\u2019s decision to scale back coverage of remote monitoring services will affect millions of its members and comes after the insurer faced intense criticism for allegedly denying to pay for medically necessary care<\/a> for its Medicare Advantage beneficiaries. UnitedHealth Group, the insurer\u2019s parent company, is also in the midst of a financial turnaround<\/a>.<\/p>\n Continue to STAT+ to read the full story\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n