Actualizado el 7 de octubre de 2024
We are engaged in active discussions with Huntsville Hospital Health System with the goal of reaching an agreement that is affordable while ensuring continued network access to the health system
Our top priority is to reach an agreement that’s affordable and sustainable for northern Alabama families as well as employers while ensuring uninterrupted network access to Huntsville Hospital Health System.
If we are unable to reach an agreement, Huntsville’s hospitals will be out of network as follows:
- Helen Keller Hospital and Red Bay Hospital would be out of network, effective Oct. 15, 2024
- Highlands Medical Center would be out of network, effective Nov. 1, 2024
- Huntsville Hospital would be out of network, effective Nov.15, 2024
- Decatur Morgan Hospital would be out of network, effective Dec. 1, 2024
This impacts people enrolled in the following benefit plans:
- Employer-sponsored commercial plans, including UMR
- Medicare Advantage plans, including Group Retiree and our Dual Special Needs Plan (DSNP)
- Individual Family Plans (IFP)
Huntsville Hospital Health System’s physicians are not impacted and continue to remain in our network for commercial, Medicare Advantage and IFP members, regardless of the outcome of our negotiation.
The cost of care at Huntsville’s hospitals is already nearly 20% higher than the average cost of all other hospitals participating in our commercial network in northern Alabama, yet the health system is seeking a near 30% price hike in just the first year of our contract
Huntsville Hospital Health System’s demands would significantly drive-up health care costs for northern Alabama families and employers and is not affordable or sustainable.
If we reimbursed Huntsville’s hospitals at the market average of its peers, it would significantly reduce health care costs for northern Alabama families as well as employers, translating into significant cost-savings for self-funded companies as well as lower premiums and out-of-pocket costs for consumers.
Nearly 80% of Huntsville’s total price hike demands for our commercial plans would come out of the operating budgets of self-insured employers
Huntsville Hospital Health System’s rate demands would directly drive-up health care costs for our self-insured customers given that these employers pay the cost of their employees’ medical bills themselves rather than relying on UnitedHealthcare to pay those claims. Nearly 80% of our commercial members throughout northern Alabama are enrolled in self-insured plans.
Agreeing to Huntsville’s rate demands would mean 10 self-funded businesses would each see their health care costs go up by $150,000 or more in just one year. Four self-funded employers would see their costs increase by $200,000 or more each, with one experiencing approximately $400,000 in increased health care costs over the next 12 months.
As a result, these employers have less money available to help grow their business through things like investments in new technologies or increase salaries for employees.
Huntsville’s proposal would significantly impact what consumers pay for services received at its hospitals
To help illustrate the impact of the health system’s 29% price hike demands in just one year, consider the following examples for Huntsville Hospital:
- The cost of outpatient surgery would increase by nearly $2,500
- The cost of a PET Scan would increase by over $1,400
- The cost of an inpatient hospital stay would increase by more than $900 per day
Our top priority is to reach an agreement with Huntsville Hospital Health System while ensuring continued, uninterrupted access to care for the people we serve.
We continue to compromise and are proposing a contract that would help ensure the health system is still reimbursed at more than fair and reasonable rates while also helping to slow the unsustainable rise in health care costs.
In the event we do not reach an agreement, people enrolled in our Group Retiree Medicare Advantage PPO plans may still receive care from any Huntsville Hospital Health System facility as an out-of-network provider, if they are a Medicare-approved provider that accepts the plan. Their share of the cost will be the same as if they were part of the network for some or all services.
UnitedHealthcare Group Retiree Medicare Advantage members are encouraged to speak with their physician to confirm they’ll continue to see them, regardless of their network status.
For additional information about our Group Retiree plan as well as information on how to find a provider in their area, UnitedHealthcare members should go to retiree.uhc.com.
We remain committed to continued good-faith negotiation with the goal of reaching an agreement that’s sustainable for consumers and local employers
We know the relationship people have with their health care providers is not only important; it’s personal. That is why our top priority is to renew our relationship with Huntsville Hospital Health System so the people we serve have continued access to the hospitals they know and trust for their health care needs. We are committed to meeting with the health system as often as it takes to reach a new agreement.
However, should Huntsville choose to leave our network, we have created the following page dedicated to information about continuity of care as well as alternative physicians and hospitals remaining in our network so that our members have the information they need regarding their health care options.