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What is a Third Party Administrator?

You likely know the name of your private insurance carrier and you may even know the name of your employer's worker's compensation insurance carrier--but what you may not know is that these insurance carriers have little to do with your actual claims.  Instead of doing the back-office work themselves, they contract with Third Party Administrators, or TPAs.  TPAs are responsible for a wide number of tasks. They may conduct Utilization Reviews for medication and medical procedures and issues authorizations or denials. They may handle pharmacy benefits, or contract directly with the pharmacy benefit managers (PBMS) that process the pharmacy claims. They handle all billing for medical providers, and pay those providers based on contractual agreements. The TPA may have complete control over every financial aspect of your private insurance or worker's compensation claim. Sedgwick or United Healthcare may be your insurance carrier in name only.  Insurance carriers contract with TP