UF Health hospitals and physician groups in Gainesville, Jacksonville, and St. Johns have exited United Healthcare’s provider network as of September 1, after months of failed negotiations over rates and contract terms.
UF Health hospitals and physician groups in Gainesville, Jacksonville, and St. Johns are no longer part of United Healthcare’s provider network as of Sept. 1 following months of negotiations between the health system and the insurer that failed to reach an agreement on rates and contract terms.
As a result, UF Health is no longer an in-network provider for non-emergency services for United Healthcare patients. However, UF Health will continue to provide care for critical cases, such as cancer treatments, transplants, emergency care, and behavioral health.
According to UF Health CEO Dr. Marvin Dewar, the health system “negotiated in good faith” for months, but United Healthcare introduced new conditions, revised previously agreed-upon terms, and refused to offer increases for physician practices. Dewar said UF Health had sought higher compensation to keep up with rising labor and supply costs, but United Healthcare’s offer fell short, failing to match inflation and the health system’s growing expenses.
“Our commitment to placing patients at the heart of our efforts is unwavering, and we have put processes in place to minimize any disruption in care to the extent we can, but unfortunately United Healthcare has given us no other choice,” he said. “We even invited United leadership to meet with us on site to finalize the agreement but they declined. We continued to try to reach an agreement right up to the deadline but United insisted upon linking other products to the negotiations and abruptly imposing new conditions.”
UnitedHealthcare, meanwhile, asserts that UF Health allowed its contract to expire after failing to respond to proposals that the insurer claims “addressed the health system’s concerns.” A release published by United Healthcare states that UF Health did not finalize a Medicaid contract despite receiving terms they sought on August 31. Moreover, UnitedHealthcare claims that UF Health’s demands for commercial plans, including a 30 percent price increase over two years, were unsustainable and would raise healthcare costs for Florida businesses and consumers.
UnitedHealthcare maintains that its proposals were competitive with market rates and provided significant movement in negotiations, but UF Health failed to engage further.
“UF Health indicated on the morning of Aug. 31 a willingness to continue participation in our Medicaid network. We delivered a contract that provided the terms they sought,” United Healthcare said. “UF Health never responded, disrupting access to care for approximately 30,000 people enrolled in our Medicaid plan who rely on UF Health for their health care needs.”
Negotiations between the two parties are ongoing.