GAINESVILLE, FL (352today.com) – Thousands of patients are now unable to access care through a nationally recognized academic health system.
UF Health (UFH) hospitals and physician groups in Gainesville, Jacksonville, and St. Johns are currently excluded from United Healthcare’s network as of September 1. This exclusion impacts thousands of patients with United Healthcare commercial, Medicaid Managed Care plans, and Medicare Advantage plans in the St. Augustine area.
“We are sensitive to the challenges this poses for our patients and despite the outcome we continue to earnestly work with United Healthcare toward a solution. Our commitment to placing patients at the heart of our efforts is unwavering, and we have put processes in place to minimize any disruption in care to the extent we can, but unfortunately United Healthcare has given us no other choice,” says Marvin Dewar, M.D., J.D., chief executive officer of UF Health Physicians. “We even invited United leadership to meet with us on site to finalize the agreement, but they declined. We continued to try to reach an agreement right up to the deadline, but United insisted upon linking other products to the negotiations and abruptly imposing new conditions and changing language to items that had already been agreed upon. As a physician, my job is to care for my patients, and we did our best to avoid this situation.”
Despite efforts to negotiate fair rates, UFH indicates that United Healthcare’s actions have led to this situation. UFH says that its physicians and facilities continue to prioritize patient care, but United’s refusal to offer competitive compensation has forced this disruption.
UFH stresses that it remains dedicated to serving patients with urgent medical needs, such as pregnancies, emergency care, cancer treatments, and other essential services.
“We are committed to doing our part to reach an agreement that would prevent disruption to all our patients’ continued access to UF Health physicians and facilities for non-emergency services and care,” Dewar says. “We are continuing to negotiate in good faith but we are waiting for the health plan to respond with a fair and sustainable offer to make that happen. Again, this includes streamlining their claims process and reducing administrative demands.”
For University of Florida students with United Healthcare coverage through the university’s student health insurance program, UFH says that care at UF Student Health Care Center and UF Health facilities is unaffected.
Patients with questions are asked to reach out to UF Health at 855.834.7337 or 352.265.8585. For frequently asked questions and information on health plans accepted by UF Health in Gainesville and Jacksonville, please visit UFHealth.org/healthplans. For FAQs and details on health plans accepted at UF St. Johns, go to StJohns.UFHealth.org/UHC.
United Healthcare encourages patients to speak with their benefits managers, brokers, or to call United directly. Typically, insurance companies provide their patient customer service numbers on membership identification cards. United Healthcare lists some of their customer service numbers on their website as follows:
- Commercial: 866.801.4409
- Medicaid Managed Care: 888.716.8787
- Medicare Advantage: 855.893.5505
UF Health has stated that it will keep providing updates on the progress as the negotiations proceed.