POTENTIAL END OF UNITED HEALTHCARE CONTRACT WORRIES SOME ELDERLY HENDERSONVILLE RESIDENTS

 The contract between UNC Health and UnitedHealthcare is in jeopardy of coming to an end.

Ginger Talbert, a Hendersonville resident, reached out to News 13 on Monday to express her concerns about a letter she received stating Pardee Hospital will no longer accept UnitedHealthcare coverage as of April 1 if an agreement is not reached between the two. Talbert said that she also received a letter from UnitedHealthcare on Feb. 2 that informed her that their current contract with UNC Health is in jeopardy of ending.

She said she’s very concerned for her and her husband because of their age and having to try and find care outside of where they live.

“We’re old, my husband just had a hip replacement and a pacemaker," Talbert told News 13. "We don’t like driving all the way to Asheville to get our health care, my husband has several doctors, we don’t want to change our insurance."

She said it’s affecting a lot of “old folk" in the area.

“We will not have any of our doctors that are currently in network," Talbert expressed her concerns. "I have two and my husband has seven that are in the Pardee network. We will have to find replacements for those doctors which is difficult. We will have to get all of our records transferred, we will have to basically start all over."

UNC Health released the following statement to News 13 regarding the ongoing negotiations:

UNC Health continues to negotiate with UnitedHealthcare, seeking a new and fair agreement that allows us to continue providing the region’s highest level of care. Unfortunately, UnitedHealthcare is not engaging in good-faith negotiations.

For now, nothing changes. Patients should continue to visit UNC Health hospitals, facilities, and physicians as normal. Cost of the visits continues to be covered under the existing contract according to the same benefits. They should continue to schedule appointments and receive care at all UNC Health facilities and with all associated UNC Health healthcare providers.

However, to continue to fulfill our mission, we need fair and equitable reimbursement from UnitedHealthcare as well as a fair partnership with them on administrative processes. Without these, we cannot maintain the level of care, scope of access, and quality of service that we provide for patients throughout our communities.

UnitedHealthcare must put patients first, just as we do, by reaching an agreement with us that protects access to all UNC Health services. Otherwise, we cannot continue our relationship with UnitedHealthcare.

As a result, we have informed UnitedHealthcare that without a new and fair agreement, patients at many UNC Health practices as well as most UNC Health hospitals who are covered by United Medicare Advantage, Individual and commercial plans through their employer will be considered out of network beginning April 1, 2024. Notably, UNC Health Appalachian, UNC Health Blue Ridge, and UNC Health Southeastern are excluded from the negotiation.

UNC Health encouraged all patients to visit a section of their website to find answers to their questions.UNC has also set up a patient assistance line at 1-833-917-1224, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

UnitedHealthcare shared the following statements with News 13 on Monday afternoon:

Our top priority is to renew our relationship with UNC Health and to ensure continued, uninterrupted access to the health system. We are committed to utilizing the time remaining on our contract to reach an agreement that is affordable for North Carolinians and employers. We provided a proposal to UNC Health on Jan. 8 that included significant movement along with meaningful rate increases that ensure the health system is reimbursed at market-competitive rates. UNC Health responded last week with a counterproposal that would increase health care costs by approximately $400 million. We are in the process of responding to UNC Health’s proposal and have committed to continued meetings with the health system with the goal of reaching an agreement that is affordable and sustainable for consumers and employers.

A UnitedHealthcare spokesperson shared the following:

• Negotiations with providers occur every day in our business and in our industry. Typically, these negotiations go largely unnoticed because they’re a routine part of insurers and providers working together. We negotiate thousands of contracts nationally each year, and almost all of them are resolved professionally behind closed doors with no external noise.
  
• Our track record of renewing contracts with providers is strong, as evidenced by the fact that we maintain relationships with more than 7,000 hospitals and 1.7 million physicians throughout the country, including more than 160 hospitals and 64,000 health care professionals who participate in our network in North Carolina. Consistent with this history, we remain optimistic we will reach agreement with UNC Health on terms that are fair and reasonable for both organizations, just as we have successfully done in our past four negotiations with UNC Health.
• The significant rate increases UNC Health is demanding would take effect in the first 24 months of our contract and are not affordable or sustainable for North Carolinians and employers.
• Our top priority is to renew our relationship without any disruption while helping ensure health care is affordable for North Carolinians and employers.
• If we are unable to reach an agreement, the majority of UNC Health’s hospitals, facilities and its physicians will be out of network for employer-sponsored, individual and Medicare Advantage plans, effective April 1, 2024.
• We have a separate contract with UNC Health for Medicaid, which is not impacted by this negotiation and continues to remain in-network, regardless of the outcome of this negotiation.

STORY & PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC 13 WLOSPotential end of UnitedHealthcare contract worries some elderly Hendersonville residents | WLOS