UnitedHealthcare is fulfilling its pledge to reduce prior authorization requirements by 30% by the end of the year. Starting October 1, 2026, the insurer will no longer require approval for more than 1,700 procedure codes across various plans.
Beginning in 2027, services for antepartum care, labor management, delivery, and postpartum care will be coded separately. The old global approach to billing obstetric care was intended to simplify billing, but it no longer reflects the variation and complexity of care across the phases of pregnancy.
A healthcare organization can terminate a vendor contract, disable accounts, shut down integrations, and move on to another technology provider. The information entrusted to that vendor, however, may not leave with the contract.
CMS released an advisory for certain clinicians who are qualifying alternative payment model (APM) participants, notifying them that their current billing information must be updated to receive funds for the 2026 payment year.
