UHC Reminder: New Referral Requirements for Medicaid Plans – New York

Starting March 1, 2021, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of New York is implementing a referral process for members who need specialty care. This referral process is implemented for the following product lines:

  • UnitedHealthcare Community Plan for Familфies (Medicaid)
  • UnitedHealthcare Community Plan Wellness 4 Me (HARP) 
  • UnitedHealthcare Community Plan ChildHealthPlus (CHP)

You can begin to use this referral process for specialist visits occurring on or after March 1, 2021. This

will require you PCPs to generate a referral for members to see in-network specialists. 

Services that do not require a referral from a member’s PCP include the following: 

  • Women´s Health Care
  • Family Planning 
  • HIV and STI Screening
  • Eye Care (subject to benefit limits in member handbook)
  • Dental Care
  • Behavioral Health – (Mental Health and Substance Use)
  • Smoking Cessation
  • Maternal Depression Screening
  • Services rendered in any emergency room or network urgent care center
  • Physician services for emergency/unscheduled admissions
  • Any services from inpatient consulting physicians
  • Radiologist, Pathologist, Anesthesia, etc. 
  • Providers that are part of inpatient hospital care or surgical teams do not need referrals
  • A specialist who has arranged to act as the member’s PCP does not need a referral for him or herself.

Specialist visits not listed above, occurring after March 1, 2021, will require a PCP referral. The referral

must be in place prior to the specialist visit for the specialist claims to be paid.

Source: https://www.uhcprovider.com/en/resource-library/news/2020-network-bulletin-featured-

articles/1220-ny-new-referral-comm-plan.html 

https://www.uhcprovider.com/content/dam/provider/docs/public/commplan/ny/bulletins-and-

newsletters/NY-Faqs-New-Requirement-PCP-Referral-Specialists-New-York.pdf 


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