Practice Issues Dominate Managed Care Help Line

Of the 319 calls to APA’s Managed Care Help Line during the second quarter of 2003, only 72 (23 percent) were complaints about managed care. “We're finding that members call more often now about a wide range of practice issues, such as coding, Medicare, and which software to buy, than they did several years ago,” said Karen Sanders, Help Line manager.

The complaints about managed care usually focused on unpaid claims, denials, and audits, and most of the callers about Magellan were seeking information about the company's bankruptcy. According to Sanders, the complaints about Magellan, United Behavioral Health, and ValueOptions were resolved fairly easily. ▪