Key Takeaways:
- Nearly 15 percent of all claims submitted to private payers for reimbursement are initially denied, including many that were pre-approved to move forward through the prior authorization process.
- Denied claims tended to be more prevalent for higher-cost treatments, with the average denial pegged to charges of $14,000 and up.
- Over half (54.3%) of denials by private payers were ultimately overturned and the claims paid, but only after multiple, costly rounds of provider appeals.
- The average cost incurred by providers fighting denials is $43.84 per claim – meaning that providers spend $19.7 billion a year just to adjudicate with payers.