Two problems, not one
Get paid on the ones they said no to.
Getting to yes and getting paid on the no are different jobs. Keep whatever gets your authorizations submitted — we work the ones that come back denied.
Half one
Submission — someone else’s
Deciding whether auth is required, assembling documentation, submitting cleanly. Real work, and we don’t ask you to rip it out.
Half two
The residual — ours
Appeals, reconsiderations, peer-to-peer prep. Every point of first-pass approval you don’t have is a denial someone has to work or write off.
Inpatient level of care not established
Aetna · lumbar fusion · $18,400 at risk
“The submitted records do not document a trial of conservative therapy of sufficient duration, and the requested site of service is not supported by medical necessity criteria.”
Two assertions. Both are answerable from the chart and the contract — which is the entire job.
Reconsideration — inpatient level of care, lumbar fusion
Aetna · CP-0214 rev. 06/2026 · denial reason 4A · $18,400
The plan’s criteria require six weeks of documented conservative therapy [§3.1]. The chart shows continuous physical therapy from 03/14 to 05/02 [PT notes], exceeding that threshold.
Advanced imaging within 90 days is on file as of 06/11 [MRI]. Site of service is set by the agreement, not by medical policy [§4.2].
Sources
Policy and contract are labeled separately. A reviewer can open every one.


