Updated Jul
31, 1:03 PM;Posted Jul 31, 12:43 PM
UnitedHealthcare
and UAB have reached an agreement, the day the UAB Health System was to stop
accepting the insurance.
Statements
from both United and UAB said the two companies have agreed to a new two-year
partnership “that enables Alabama residents enrolled in UnitedHealthcare
commercial and Medicare Advantage health plans to have continued access to all
UAB facilities and physicians,” United said.
The
two organizations will work together for the next two weeks to finalize the
agreement. During that period, United policy holders can continue to receive
care at UAB entities without any interruption.
“We
recognize that the care UAB provides is not only important but also personal to
our members, and we understand the negotiation process may have been difficult
for them,” a statement from United said. “Our top priority throughout this
process was ensuring the members we’re honored to serve in Alabama have access
to quality, affordable health care, and we appreciate UAB’s collaboration in
helping achieve this outcome.”
United
was set to stop being accepted at most UAB entities, excluding emergency rooms,
beginning July 31 after the two companies failed to reach a contract agreement.
Approximately 25,000 policyholders were going to be affected by the situation.
“We
are pleased that we were able to reach an agreement with United Healthcare that
will allow us to continue in our mission to provide the highest quality health
care to their policy holders in Alabama,” UAB Health System CEO Will Ferniany
said Wednesday.
“As
the flagship hospital for the state, we provide medical services that no other
healthcare facility can provide and we are committed to offering our services
to everyone in the state of Alabama," he said.
Ferniany
said previously that United “forced” UAB into the situation, adding that UAB
had tried to make concessions to work with United but the insurance company
refused to budge on their conditions. “We haven’t had these kinds of problems
with any other provider but United,” he said then.
Last
month, the UAB Health System sent out 40,000 letters to patients who went to a
UAB entity in the past two years with United insurance to notify them they soon
could have to pay out-of-pocket costs if no agreement was reached.
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