Aetna reached an agreement to improve its provider directories after a Massachusetts attorney general investigation uncovered inaccuracies in its network information, according to The Boston Globe.
The settlement, filed in Suffolk Superior Court Dec. 11, closed the attorney general's investigation. Attorney General Maura Healey's office said it found Aetna's provider directories listed physicians "at locations where they do not actually provide healthcare services."
In addition, consumers raised concerns of "ghost networks" when searching for mental healthcare providers. For example, when members called physicians listed in Aetna's directory, they learned the phone number was incorrect or that the provider had moved, was not accepting new patients or had retired, according to the report.
"Moving forward, we will take a number of steps to improve the quality of our provider directories to ensure that our members have access to the correct contact information for the healthcare professionals in their network," Aetna spokesperson Ethan Slavin told The Boston Globe. Aetna agreed to update provider information within 30 days of learning of an inaccuracy and to ask physicians to update their information four times a year.
Aetna covers 170,000 residents in Massachusetts.
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