ALBANY, NY – June 17, 2019 – URAC and the National Association of Independent Review Organizations (NAIRO) support Congressional legislation to protect patients from “surprise billing.”  This practice has placed financial hardship on patients due to the lack of coordination in our delivery system and the misaligned billing practices of healthcare organizations.  If Congress considers adoption of an arbitration model whereby an independent arbiter decides any payment disputes between health plans and providers, we believe that the arbiter(s) should be accredited independent review organizations (IROs).  Payers, providers, and their regulators deserve an independent, qualified assessment regarding a payment determination.  Accredited IROs have a 20-year history of protecting patients by serving as trusted independent clinical experts.  Accredited IROs have a strong foundation avoiding conflicts of interest, utilizing high-qualified and specialized clinical reviewers and staff, and rendering accurate and timely decisions in a transparent manner. New York, New Jersey, and Illinois have all found success utilizing the arbitration model.

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ALBANY, NY – June 10, 2019 – The National Association of Independent Review Organizations (NAIRO), the nation’s leading voice of independent medical peer review, is pleased to announce the newly installed Executive Officers of its Board of Directors.

NAIRO’s 2019-21 Executive Officers include:

April 15, 2019 – One of the pillars of protecting the integrity of the review process for all stakeholders within the healthcare industry is to conduct secure and prudent clinician credentialing. This is a critical process within the realm of independent review organizations (IRO) and utilization management (UM) organizations.

Vetting and contracting with qualified clinicians is key because health plans and patients rely on the expertise of those clinicians to render accurate reviews. Today, leading IROs and UM organizations are advancing the credentialing process, which largely plays out behind the scenes but is vital to preserving the independence and integrity of medical review.

New white paper defines the highest standards in vetting medical reviewers

ALBANY, NY – February 15, 2019 – Today the National Association of Independent Review Organizations (NAIRO) released a publication showcasing the key concept of clinician credentialing within the wider scope of independent medical review and utilization review.

The white paper, High-Caliber Credentialing: Protecting the Integrity of Medical Review, identifies the rigorous standards that leading independent review organizations (IROs) and utilization review/utilization management (UR/UM) organizations adhere to when vetting clinicians for important decision-making activities related to appropriate health coverage.

ALBANY, NY – February 4, 2019 – The Board of Directors is pleased to announce that the National Association of Independent Review Organizations has selected Capitol Hill Management Services as the new firm for managing the association.  “We are pleased to have a proven national leader in association management to help NAIRO improve our association’s administrative and membership services, grow our membership, and increase awareness of our organization across the United States,” said Board President Ed Bolton.

“Through its committed members and outstanding programs, the National Association of Independent Review Organizations is playing an important role in protecting the integrity of the independent review process for all stakeholders” said John A. Graziano, Jr., President of Capitol Hill Management Services.  “We are pleased to work with the association’s dedicated Board of Directors and volunteers in ensuring a successful future for IROs and helping to improve healthcare delivery through the effectuation of a fair and equitable review process.”