Huntsville Hospital Health System announced Thursday that it has sent a termination notice to UnitedHealthcare.
The system said in a statement that the decision came after “months of disappointing negotiations” with “major insurance companies.”
“HH Health has made the difficult decision to terminate the participation agreement between the insurance company and HH Health member hospitals,” the system said in a statement. “This decision affects United’s commercial health insurance and Medicare Advantage plans. It does not affect United’s Veterans Administration veteran care plans.”
According to HH Health, patients with UnitedHealthcare insurance can continue to use Huntsville Hospital Health System as an out-of-network hospital.
According to the system, out-of-pocket costs will not be affected for retired educators (PEEHIP) and retired state employees (SEIB) enrolled in UHC Medicare.
The hospitals included in the HH Health System are:
Helen Keller Hospital in Sheffield will leave the United network on October 15th. Highlands Medical Center in Scottsboro will leave Oct. 31. Huntsville Hospital and Madison Hospital will become out-of-network hospitals on Nov. 14. Decatur Morgan Hospital will be removed from the network. The remaining HH System hospitals are scheduled to retire in 2025.
UnitedHealthcare, based in Minnesota, is the insurance brand of UnitedHealth Group, the world’s largest healthcare company by revenue. Attempts to reach the company for comment were not immediately available.
According to Huntsville Hospital, UnitedHealthcare is not paying what it is contractually required to pay under its current contract, and its denial rate for patient claims is 75 percent higher than other similar insurers.
“This decision was not made in haste and we remain committed to a resolution,” HH Health System said in a release. “For more than a year, HH Health has been working toward a mutually beneficial agreement with UnitedHealthcare. To date, HH’s efforts have not received the same level of consideration as a Fortune 500 company.”
If you are a UnitedHealthcare subscriber and have questions, please contact UnitedHealthcare at 1-877-298-2341. CMS Medicare open enrollment begins October 15th and runs through December 7th.
Patients can see their plan options on the Medicare website.
