Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is recouping $4 million in overpayments from therapists who cared for its Medicaid members, the Star Tribune reports.
Here are four things to know about the overpayments.
1. Earlier this year, BCBS found it was overpaying some therapists by roughly 24 percent for Medicaid claims. The payer said under contract, it could recoup incorrect payments from up to 10 months prior.
2. Mental health providers in Minnesota began receiving bills from BCBS last month. On Dec. 18, the Minnesota Psychological Association formally requested the payer end efforts to reclaim the overpayments "due to Blue Cross Blue Shield's own errors in processing those claims."
3. MPA added the recoupment is "extremely burdensome to providers and may very well force some providers out of business." BCBS is requesting repayment from providers in varying sizes, from a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars, according to MPA.
4. In a statement to the Star Tribune, BCBS said, "As stewards of our members' healthcare dollar, Blue Cross has a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that we are paying correctly for services and to correct errors as soon as they have been identified. We have apologized to the affected providers and stand by our offer to address their specific circumstances in order to adequately plan a budget and repayment process that works for them."
Editor's note: This article was updated Jan. 11 at 8:12 a.m. to correct the headline to "BCBS of Minnesota." We regret this error.
More articles on payer issues:
BCBS subsidiary to lay off 264 employees after losing 3-state Medicare contract
Aetna's year in review: 5 biggest stories in 2017
Cigna CEO to chair US-Korea business council: 3 things to know