A 3-judge arbitration panel in Tampa, Florida, has ordered UnitedHealthcare to pay $10.8 million to a TeamHealth clinician group for underpayments from 2017 till 2020.
Based mostly in Knoxville, TeamHealth employs greater than 15,000 affiliated healthcare professionals and superior observe clinicians in a wide range of care, together with emergency medication, hospital medication, essential care, anesthesiology, orthopedic surgical procedure, common surgical procedure, obstetrics, acute behavioral well being, post-acute care, post-acute behavioral well being and ambulatory care.
“United persists in exploiting susceptible sufferers and refuses to adequately pay suppliers, regardless of having confronted sanctions, jury awards, and settlement funds of some half a billion {dollars},” mentioned Dr. Jay Mesrobian, TeamHealth Nationwide Medical Director and Chief Scientific Officer in a information launch.
Based on the information launch, the panel discovered that UnitedHealthcare had paid TeamHealth physicians 30% of what they have been owed as “truthful fee” for his or her care.
The lawsuit is one in every of 9 instances all through the nation that TeamHealth has introduced towards UnitedHealthcare for alleged underpayments. The opposite eight instances are nonetheless ongoing.
Regardless of the panel’s determination, UHC doesn’t view the panel’s ruling as a complete loss. TeamHealth was initially searching for $30 million however the panel solely ordered the insurance coverage large to pay $10.8 million, mentioned a consultant who declined to be named.
“The panel appropriately acknowledged the $30 million-plus TeamHealth was searching for was undeserving and awarded it solely a fraction,” the UHC consultant mentioned in an electronic mail. “It additionally dominated that TeamHealth’s implied contract and unjust enrichment causes of motion had no advantage.”
Additional, the consultant forwarded a press release that declared that TeamHealth has unrealistic expectations for doctor pay.
“TeamHealth continues to make use of litigation to distract from the true cause it not participates in our community; it expects to be paid double and even triple the median charge we pay different physicians offering the identical providers. TeamHealth’s actions are driving up the price of healthcare for everybody,” the assertion mentioned.
The consultant identified that the panel of judges denied TeamHealth’s implied contract and unjust enrichment causes of motion. Additionally, they rejected TeamHealth’s request for extra immediate pay penalties the day earlier than Thanksgiving, the consultant mentioned.
In the meantime, TeamHealth doesn’t consider the battle will not be over.
“This judgment displays United’s ongoing, intensive wrongdoing that places their billions of {dollars} in report income forward of sufferers’ well-being and the U.S. healthcare system. We are going to proceed to battle United till they modify course and begin pretty compensating suppliers,” the corporate mentioned in a information launch.
TeamHealth and UnitedHealthcare’s authorized battle date again to a separate case during which in late 2021 Las Vegas jury awarded $60 million to TeamHealth
contentious authorized battle started between the 2 firms in late 2021 when a Las Vegas jury awarded $60 million in punitive damages on prime of tens of millions in compensatory damages for UnitedHealthcare’s underpayments on 1000’s of claims for emergency remedy.
Picture: photovs, Getty Pictures
