Inaccurate health care provider directories cause stress, unnecessary expense, and aggravation for insurance customers every day, according to witnesses testifying before a Senate Committee on Finance hearing on May 3.
“Ghost networks are an ongoing, persistent problem,” said committee chairman Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)
Witnesses called on Congress to take steps to standardize directories and hold insurance companies accountable for the issue.
Ghost networks are formed when a health insurance plan’s directory includes inaccurate information, such as listings for doctors who have retired, never worked for the listed office, or are outside the plan’s network.
Wyden said this often becomes apparent only after a customer has enrolled in the plan. His staff did a “secret shopper” survey of health plans and successfully booked an appointment 18 percent of the time. Wyden said one staff member was connected with a high school health office….