Dive Brief:
- UnitedHealthcare may remove Hartford Hospital and the Hospital of Central Connecticut from their network due to a contract dispute that has been ongoing for several months. The former contract expires April 14.
- The parent company of the two hospitals, Hartford HealthCare, plans to notify 16,883 impacted patients about the issue later this week. That includes those under United Healthcare as well as its subsidiary, Oxford Health Plans.
- UnitedHealthcare reports that about 13,500 of their 475,000 Connecticut customers utilized either of the two hospitals during the past year.
Dive Insight:
The Hartford Courant suggests that if UnitedHealthcare can't resolve this battle, it may end up parting ways with other providers in the region as well. The paper notes that contracts will soon expire with William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich, MidState Medical Center in Meriden and Windham Hospital, on May 26. In addition, the insurer's contract with the Hartford Physician Hospital Organization will expire June 15.
UnitedHealthcare said in a press statement, "Our goal is to work together with Hartford HealthCare to transition Connecticut to a modernized healthcare system that is focused on paying for patient value rather than the volume of care delivered."