SKDK Launches Payer Practice Amid Insurer-Provider Disputes

(MENAFN- PRovoke) WASHINGTON - SKDK has launched a payer negotiation practice to help health systems navigate increasingly contentious negotiations with insurers, as disputes over reimbursement and network access can become public communications and reputation battles.

The practice will bring together SKDK's healthcare communications, public affairs, opinion research, issues management and media specialists to work with health systems on negotiations that can affect reimbursement, patient access and an organization's reputation.

The launch comes as disputes between healthcare providers and insurers over reimbursement rates and network access increasingly play out publicly, raising the stakes for patients as well as both sides.

SKDK also released new HarrisX research showing how closely patients are affected by those disputes. The poll found 79% of Americans say it is very or extremely important that their preferred doctors and hospitals remain in their health insurance plan's network, while 45% said they have experienced at least one negative coverage or network issue involving their insurer and healthcare provider in the last three years.

“Health systems are operating in a fundamentally different environment than they were even a few years ago,” said SKDK president Mike Morey.“Payers have gotten increasingly more aggressive in pushing systems to accept reimbursement rates that fail to meet the cost of patient care.”

Morey said insurers are also using advertising and media strategies as part of negotiations, raising the communications and reputational stakes for health systems.

The HarrisX research found 62% of Americans would view their insurer less favorably if it removed their preferred hospital or health system from its network. Among people who have experienced a coverage or network problem, 38% said it caused stress or anxiety, 30% delayed or canceled an appointment or procedure and 29% said their treatment or continuity of care was disrupted.

The research also found doctors and healthcare providers are the most trusted source of information about healthcare coverage and access to care, cited by 34% of respondents, compared with 18% who cited their insurance company.

The HarrisX survey was conducted online Sept. 28-29 among a representative sample of 1,176 US adults. The results were weighted to reflect the US population and have a margin of error of +/- 2.9%.

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