As financial stress for hospitals and clinics builds due to COVID-19, health insurers said they are accelerating financial payments to health care providers.
Minnetonka-based UnitedHealth Group, which runs the nation's largest health insurance company, said this week it's providing nearly $2 billion in various types of funding including claims payments to medical and behavioral care providers.
On Wednesday, Eagan-based Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, which is the largest carrier for state residents, said it's accelerating about $80 million in payments for providers that hit certain cost and quality goals, saying the money previously was scheduled to arrive in the fall.
Hospitals and clinics across the country have been stressed financially by the COVID-19 pandemic, as they try to prepare while seeing revenue plunge due to bans on elective surgeries and procedures.
"This is coming at an enormous cost to our hospitals," Mary Krinkie, vice president for government relations at the Minnesota Hospital Association said during a legislative hearing this month.
"It was a tough policy choice that we felt we had to make in order to conserve personal protective equipment," Krinkie said. But she added: "We have to protect our health care workers or we're going to lose this fight."
Several insurers said they are trying to make it easier for health care providers to get paid.
Minnetonka-based Medica said in a statement Wednesday that it's trying to reduce the administrative burden for physicians and facilities by suspending certain requirements for prior authorization and documentation. Premera Blue Cross, a health plan in the Pacific Northwest, said Wednesday it would provide up to $100 million in financial support in the form of advance payments of claims to medical, dental and behavioral health providers.
