Dive Brief:

• With a deadline looming at next month's end, negotiations are still underway between UnitedHealthcare and Carolinas Healthcare System, which according to UnitedHealthcare, "wants to be paid up to 150% more than other hospitals in the Charlotte area for providing the same services."
• If a deal isn't reached soon, the multi-year contract between the Charlotte, NC system and the insurer will expire Feb. 28, leaving 12 Charlotte-area hospitals and many doctors offices in Carolinas HealthCare "out-of-network" for the nearly 80,000 Charlotte-area members. 
• While UnitedHealthcare said Carolinas HealthCare is resistant to basing part of its reimbursement on achieving certain quality measures and patient outcomes, Carolinas spokeswoman Amy Murphy said the health system is "not resistant. We are completely willing to talk about being paid for quality." 

Dive Insight:

The economic impact of being dropped by an insurer is big for physicians and hospitals in a network. But with so many cost pressures for insurers like UnitedHealthcare, as well as the biggest hospital systems, it's no surprise that reimbursement grapples are at the heart of the matter. However, disagreements such as these are often worked out in the 11th hour so there's hope that UnitedHealthcare and Carolinas HealthCare can work out terms that keep both parties happy.