UnitedHealthcare has reprocessed 1.6 million COVID-19 vaccination claims that shortchanged providers, according to a Jan. 20 congressional report from Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa.
The payer allegedly paid providers up to 40 percent less than CMS's recommended $40 reimbursement rate for COVID-19 tests. In October 2021, UnitedHealthcare said it would be reviewing claims affected by the underpayment and reprocessing them.
According to the report, UnitedHealthcare has reimbursed 99.8 percent of affected claims. On average, adjusted claims cost $14.55, totalling to $23.9 million in reimbursed payments.
The payer told Mr. Casey that the remaining 2,900 outstanding claims would be reprocessed by Feb. 1.
While Mr. Casey's report called UnitedHealthcare's actions the "appropriate response," he raised concerns over claims that an executive said the company's size may have contributed to the slow rollout of updated reimbursement rates in the first place.