Recent revelations about a data analytics firm’s role in determining medical payments have heightened concerns about possible price fixing in health care and led to a call for a federal investigation. In a letter this week, Senator Amy Klobuchar asked federal regulators to examine whether algorithms used by the firm, MultiPlan, have helped major health insurers conspire to cut payments to doctors and leave patients with large bills. She cited a New York Times investigation last month into MultiPlan’s dominance of the lucrative business of pricing out-of-network medical claims. When patients see a medical provider outside their plan’s network, insurers often send their claims to MultiPlan, which uses proprietary algorithms to recommend how much to pay. By driving down payments to providers, MultiPlan and the insurers can collect higher fees for themselves, The Times reported, but this can lead to higher bills for patients, who may get charged the unpaid balance.

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Persons: Amy Klobuchar, ” Ms, Klobuchar Organizations: New York Times, Federal Trade Commission, Times