GI endoscopy advance notification ends Oct. 1

To help simplify access to care and reduce complexity, beginning Oct. 1, 2026, we’ll no longer request advance notification for select gastroenterology endoscopy (GI) services and end all GI site-of-service (SOS) reviews, including screening colonoscopy procedures, for UnitedHealthcare commercial plan and Oxford New York and Connecticut plan members.

Services that no longer require advance notification

Beginning Oct. 1, 2026, the following gastroenterology endoscopy procedures won’t require advance notification:

• Esophagogastroduodenoscopies (EGD)
• Capsule endoscopies
• Diagnostic and surveillance colonoscopies

Screening colonoscopy procedures were not subject to this advance notification process.

A subset of these gastroenterology endoscopy services, as well as screening colonoscopies, also required site-of-service medical necessity review if the procedure was planned to be performed in an outpatient hospital. When these services are performed on or after Oct. 1, 2026, SOS medical necessity review will no longer be required if performed in an outpatient hospital setting.