February 2006

Lawsuit filed against UHC/ACN

Several Missouri chiropractors have joined to file a class action lawsuit against United Healthcare Corporation (UHC) and American Chiropractic Network (ACN) in the Western Division of the federal court of the United States. The lawsuit alleges UHC/ACN created a way to cut healthcare costs that affects the quality of healthcare available to patients.

According to the suit, UHC/ACN profiles the doctors and uses these profiles to determine the level of care patients need. They send doctors a notification that places them on probation, and gives them six months to improve or face possible termination from the UHC network. Many doctors across the country have received these notifications, called Performance Improvement Agreements, and many have been terminated.

The Performance Improvement Agreements gave doctors criteria they should fall under, according to ACN. It limits the doctors to an average patient visit number not to exceed 6.2 visits per 6 months. Some states have reported these averages were 2.7 patient visits per year. There are approximately 29,000 providers in the ACN network.

The Missouri Division of Insurance (MDOI) is also looking into the matter after many complaints have been filed with them concerning ACN and UHC.

Source: Missouri State Chiropractors Association, www.mscainfo.com

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