Negotiations between Erlanger Health System and UnitedHealthcare fail
Tuesday, October 7th, 2014
“Over the last five years, we have labored under a strained working relationship with United. Given all of the administrative, claims processing and other challenges that Erlanger and its physicians continually face with United, we made the difficult, but necessary decision to formally terminate all of our contracts with United. This includes all Erlanger facilities, entities and employed physicians.
Effective October 7, 2014, Erlanger will not renew or extend its TennCare agreement or its Medicare HMO Special Needs Plan with United (formal plan name: UnitedHealthcare Dual Complete). Our commercial and Medicare Advantage agreements with United will also terminate on December 31, 2014.
If these dates pass without new contracts in place, Erlanger will not participate in any United networks for any insurance products. We did not make this decision lightly, but feel we have no other choice to correct these contracts and our relationship with United. It is important for you to know that, for now, you can continue to visit our facilities and physicians the way you always have until the above-mentioned dates.
We want nothing more than to reach a fair agreement with United to protect your access to high-quality, cost-effective and convenient healthcare. We urge United to acknowledge the valuable and important role Erlanger plays in our community, and in our patients’ lives. Our health system is the only full-service academic medical center in the area, partnered with the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and the 10th largest public hospital in the country, with services that are unparalleled in the region. We are asking United to work with us toward a new agreement that puts patient care before process and profits.”
Full article at www.erlanger.org
If you are a patient affected by these changes or have any plan questions, Please call Independent Insurance Consultants at 423-826-7899 or Toll Free 1-866-691-5571. Our experts are here to help you.