NC General Assembly Enacts Senate Bill 877 to Stop Unfair Business Practices by Managed Care Companies
July 20th, 2009
An effort led by the North Carolina Medical Society (NCMS) to stop unfair business practices by managed care companies achieved a major victory when the NC General Assembly passed SB 877 – Health Plan Provider Contracts/Transparency (Clodfelter D-Mecklenburg). The measure becomes law when signed by the Governor.
“This is a significant victory for physicians and the NCMS because lawmakers recognized the unfair business practices undertaken by health insurers,” said NCMS EVP, CEO Robert Seligson, who also serves as President of the Physicians Advocacy Institute (PAI), which serves as a watchdog to ensure compliance with settlements reached in lawsuits filed against health insurance companies. “The bill champions fundamental contract fairness between providers and insurers,” Seligson said.
Enactment of SB 877 concludes a nearly 18-month joint effort by the NCMS and NC Medical Group Managers. The successful legislative phase was accomplished with the support and involvement of Senator Dan Clodfelter and a team of health interest groups including the NC Society of Anesthesiologists, the NC Academy of Family Physicians, the NC Radiology Society, and the NC Hospital Association. Special thanks goes to the NCMS physician members who participated in the grassroots effort to gain passage of SB 877.
The NCMS-backed measure was supported by numerous physician specialty societies and the NC Medical Group Managers.(NC MGM). The NCMS began working with an MGM task force about 18 months ago to draft proposed legislation designed to stop delaying tactics and other practices affecting how physicians were paid by health insurers.
“This is a major step toward fair negotiation of contracts with health plans,” said NCMS President Albert J. Osbahr, MD, in a letter to NCMS members announcing the passage of SB 877. “It is the hope of your Society leadership that this legislation sends a message loud and clear to managed care organizations that policy makers expect physicians to be treated fairly in their business dealings with insurance companies.”
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