Dear UnitedHealthcare Member:
As we previously announced during Benefits Open Enrollment for 2008, Oxford became UnitedHealthcare (UHC) as a result of UnitedHealthcare’s acquisition of Oxford. Our records show that you are enrolled in UHC for 2008.
It has been brought to our attention that some UHC members are not receiving reimbursement for their doctor visits. We have found that, in most cases, benefit coverage was denied because the doctor was not participating in the UHC network and a Transition of Care form was not received by UHC.
If your doctor was in the Oxford network, please check the UHC list of participating network doctors to make sure he or she is a participating provider. While your enrollment may have automatically transferred, doctors did not automatically transfer from Oxford to UHC. You can view the list of all United Healthcare participating providers at www.myUHC.com/groups/columbiauniversity.While Columbia University worked closely with CPPN, Oxford and United Healthcare to minimize disruption, there are some physicians who chose not to participate in the Columbia University custom UnitedHealthcare network.
Additionally, some physicians do not accept any insurance at all and that is their individual decision.
If you find that your doctor participated in the Oxford network but is not participating in the UHC network, you must submit a Transition of Care application form to UHC. The Transition of Care form is located in the HR Forms section on the right side of the HR Benefits home page:
http://www.hr.columbia.edu/hr/benefits/page-section.html. One Transition of Care form needs to be submitted for each individual doctor.Please fax the Transition of Care form(s) directly to UnitedHealthcare at 800-628-0654. If you do not have access to a fax machine, please mail the Transition of Care form to the address shown at the top of the form. The deadline for submitting the Transition of Care form(s) to UnitedHealthcare is March 15, 2008.
UnitedHealthcare will notify you in writing once your Transition of Care submission is activated. Once you receive confirmation from UHC, your doctor visits will be reimbursed at the "in-network" level for 2008.
If you do not submit a Transition of Care form, your doctor visits will be paid at the out-of-network level and you will have to satisfy deductibles and coinsurance.
We encourage you to talk with your doctor about their plans to accept UHC at some point in the future. If your doctor indicates that he/she has no intention of participating in the UHC network, you will have an opportunity to make any necessary changes to your medical insurance during the next annual Benefits Open Enrollment held in the fall.
If you have any questions regarding this communication, please contact the Columbia University HR Benefits Service Center at (212) 851-7000. You may also email us at hrbenefits@columbia.edu.
Sincerely,
Linda Nilsen
Assistant Vice President, Benefits
Columbia University HR Benefits
Below are responses to Frequently Asked Questions:
Transition of Care is a service that UnitedHealthcare is providing to Columbia University employees so you can seek treatment from non-network physicians at the benefit level associated with UnitedHealthcare participating providers.
Transition of Care is available through December 31, 2008. After that time, if your doctor still does not participate in the UHC network, you will receive reimbursement at the out-of-network level if you choose to remain with UHC.
Once you receive notification from UHC that your Transition of Care is activated, you will need to pay for any services at the time of your appointment. You must then submit a claim form to UnitedHealthcare and await reimbursement. The UHC Medical Claim form is located in the HR Forms section on the right side of the HR Benefits home page: