Health Insurers Prepared to Fight for Medical Management
AHIP's Matt Eyles says holding down the cost of care is critical to expanding access to care.
One of health insurers’ policy priorities this year will be defending their ability to raise questions about doctors’ treatment decisions, according Matt Eyles, the president of America’s Health Insurance Plans.
“We’re going to push back on restrictions on evidence-based medical management, which is a critical tool to support health insurance providers’ efforts to prioritize treatments that work, that are high-quality, proven and affordable,” Eyles said last week, during an AHIP State of the Industry web presentation.
Controlling the underlying cost of care is critical to ensuring that more Americans have access to affordable coverage and care, Eyles said.
Eyles said AHIP will also continue to fight pharmaceutical companies’ efforts to increase drug prices, by using strategies to shut out competition from generic drugs and other competing drugs.
Other AHIP priorities include opposing hospital and physician group practice consolidation, and any new efforts to reimpose the kinds of limits telemedicine providers faced before the COVID-19 pandemic started.
AHIP would like to see employer plans be able to offer “first-dollar” telehealth visit coverage, or coverage without applying the deductible, for employees and dependents with high-deductible health coverage, Eyles said.
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Pictured: Matt Eyles testifies at a Senate hearing on health finance policy. (Photo: Senate HELP Committee)