Posted in #Medicareadvantage, #unitedhealthcare, NY Providers, Prior Authorization Insurance Carrier Updates

UHC to remove prior auth for some radiology and cardiology tests.

Starting Jan 1, 2026 certain nuclear imaging tests, OBGYN ultrasounds, and certain cardiology tests will no longer require a prior authorization for some of the  following plan types:

1.UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company
2.UnitedHealthcare Mid-Atlantic, inc. 
3.UnitedHealthcare Plan of the River Valley, Inc. and 4.UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of the River Valley
5.Oxford Health Insurance, Inc.
United Healthcare Level Funded (formerly All Savers Life Insurance Company of California)
6.Neighborhood Health Partnership, Inc.
7.UnitedHealthcare Individual Exchange plans, also referred to as UnitedHealthcare Individual and Family ACA Marketplace plans
8.UnitedHealthcare Services, Inc.
9.UnitedHealthcare Community Plans

Some of the affected codes are:

Image via UHC website

For a full list of affected codes please click here: https://www.uhcprovider.com/en/resource-library/news/2025/removal-prior-auth-radiology-cardiology.html


Find this content useful? Follow my Blog!


Posted in #reimbursement, #unitedhealthcare, NY Providers, Payers and CPT reinbursement, Training

NYS UHC Community Plan OBGYN required codes

Are you an OBGYN that practices in NYS and accepts UHC Community Plan? Then this blog post is for you.

As per UHC Community Health Plan announcement the claims need to be submitted with the additional codes:

0500F – Initial prenatal visit
0502F – Subsequent prenatal visit
0503F – Postpartum visit 

These codes are not reimbursed separately and are only used for HEDIS reporting.

Please do not forget to bill the proper OBGYN codes (global, etc) in order to get reimbursement.


Find this blog post useful? Follow my blog for more current medical billing, coding and reimbursement updates.


Posted in #unitedhealthcare, Training, Updates

UHC Commercial Plan: new prenatal ultrasound policy -2022

As of 06/01/2022- UHC announced a new prenatal ultrasound policy for the year 2022. The reimbursement for this policy will be determined post-service, with pre-pay based on the following:

  1. The first 3 prenatal ultrasounds are going to be covered and medical necessary: CPT® codes 76801, 76802, 76805, 76810, 76811, 76812, 76815, 76816 and 76817
  2. 4 or more ultrasounds will be considered proven and medically necessary for high-risk pregnancies, as described in the policy, when the treating provider will make therapeutic determinations based upon the results.

This policy applies towards professional services billed on HCFA1500 form and performed in POS 11 and 22.


This policy doesn’t apply to:

  • Prenatal ultrasounds rendered in an emergency room
  • Outpatient observation care
  • Inpatient hospital setting

Charging patients for NON-COVERED services:

Please note, you’ll need to get written consent prior to the service if you bill patients for services denied for lack of medical necessity. Patient consent will need an estimate of the charges and a statement of the reason you believe the service may not be covered. See the “Charging members for non-covered services” protocol in the UnitedHealthcare care provider administrative guide.”


Please click here to review the new  obstetrical ultrasound medical policy


Find this type of content useful? Follow my blog for new/updated reimbursement policy announcements, medical billing and coding guideline changes and anything else healthcare related.


Recent Blog Posts: