Yet they've agreed to allow health professionals to fill out a universal application that can be used by all three managed care organizations in their credentialing efforts. Physicians who are members of multiple health plans frequently complain that they face hundreds of pages of credentialing forms, which typically duplicate information. Yet standardizing the process is just common sense, a step that I think many are afraid to do for fear of showing any cooperation among competitors. Further streamlining is likely. Dr. Newcomer said Humana and United already are discussing linking on-site reviews of doctors' offices.
Many doctors contend repetitive visits by surveyors are disruptive to care.
The three plans' cooperative move is made easier because they already rely on Louisville, Ky.-based Aperture, a credentials verification business in which Humana and United are major investors. It's a win-win for the doctors, health plans and us. Yet Aperture has no estimates on what it's likely to save on the move. And it remains to be seen how many doctors truly will benefit. Neither the health plans nor Aperture currently know to what extent the three plans' physician panels overlap, Dr. Newcomer said.