AAPPO launches campaign to stop silent PPOs’

The American Association of Preferred Provider Organizations (AAPPO) has approved a formal policy of fighting so-called silent PPOs — independent providers that act like PPOs but don’t belong to a organized preferred provider network or disclose their contract arrangements.

As part of campaign against silent PPOs, the association has adopted a policy that supports disclosure of all contractual intents and purposes relative to contractually permitted provider discounts.

Without such disclosure, "patient and network identification, access and steerage, and any financial differentials, [and] discounts should not be granted by providers, applied by PPOs nor taken by payers," says the AAPPO.

According to a report by Minneapolis-based researchers, InterStudy, PPOs are currently enjoying profit margins of 15% and higher. This compares to just 5% for the few HMOs that have returned to profitability.