On December 3, 2019, Mandelbaum Barrett PC obtained another significant victory in its fight to protect doctors and other healthcare providers from being unfairly removed by UnitedHealthcare (“UHC”) from its dual Medicare and Medicaid Community Health Plan (The “Plan”).
“An emergency arbitrator in an American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) hearing enjoined and restrained UHC from taking any action to terminate or not renew our client-physician’s contract pending a final award by a permanent arbitrator, according to Steven Adler, lead trial counsel from Mandelbaum Barrett PC in Roseland, New Jersey. “In addition, the arbitrator ordered UHC to treat our client like all other active providers under the Plan. Specifically, UHC was enjoined from telling patients that our client is not accepting patients or would be removed from the Plan,” according to Adler.
Testimony during the hearing confirmed that the appeal panels UHC hand-selects to review its decisions terminating health care providers simply rubber-stamp UHC’s actions without considering whether there is any legitimate basis for the terminations and non-renewals. “This opens the door for all health care providers who are being removed by UHC to prove that they were denied a fair procedure and must be reinstated,” Adler stated. Mohamed Nabulsi, the Chair of Mandelbaum Barrett PC’s Health Care Group, and Adler, Co-Chair of the Firm’s Litigation Department, are handling the case.