UnitedHealthcare, Hartford HealthCare talking as contract set to expire April 1

Contributed Hartford HealthCare's headquarters at 100 Pearl St., Hartford.

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Hartford HealthCare (HHC) and UnitedHealthcare (UHC) continue to negotiate a new three-year agreement as their existing contract is set to expire next month.

In a post on its website, HHC said the current contract with UHC expires at midnight on March 31, “unless the parties agree on a new contract before then.”

HHC, which operates Hartford Hospital, is Connecticut’s second-largest health system. The organization said it is working to reach a new agreement “so United members will continue to receive care at Hartford HealthCare on an in-network basis.”

According to the web post, HHC states that UHC has offered “an average payment increase of only 1.8% per year,” and has proposed no increase over the next three years for “our employed physicians.”

In addition, HHC said UHC “wants to reduce our payments by nearly 10% over the next three years” for its surgery centers, adding that the centers “offer patients lower-cost alternatives” to its hospitals.

“For many other health services we provide to United members, including our urgent care walk-in centers, United is offering either no or minimal rate increases over the next three years,” HHC states.

On its website, UHC states that HHC is seeking “a near 20% price hike for our commercial plans over the next three years, as well as a significant rate increase for our Medicare Advantage plans.”

Combined, HHC’s proposal "would make it substantially higher cost than any health system in our Medicare Advantage network in Connecticut,” the website states.

UHC also notes that “more than 65%” of HHC’s proposed price increases for its commercial plans “would be paid out of the operating budgets of self-insured employers. This would directly drive up healthcare costs for self-insured companies given that they pay the cost of their employees’ medical bills themselves rather than relying on UnitedHealthcare to pay those claims.”

The majority of its commercial members in Connecticut are enrolled in self-insured plans, UHC said.

“Agreeing to HHC’s proposal would mean nine self-funded businesses would see their health care costs go up by at least $500,000 or more, while some of the most heavily impacted employers would see their costs increase between $1.3 million to as much as $6.3 million,” UHC states on its website.

In a statement emailed to Hartford Business Journal, a UHC spokesperson said HHC's latest proposal would increase health care costs by $186 million.

"Our top priority is to reach an agreement that is affordable for consumers and employers.," the UHC spokesman said. "We hope HHC shares our commitment and works with us to provide Connecticut families access to affordable care.”

A spokesperson for HHC said the health system is "very aware of the impact negotiations have on the communities and patients we serve. We are working diligently to resolve remaining issues to ensure a mutually agreeable contract and believe we can reach a resolution soon.”

The HHC spokesperson added that, "For now, nothing has changed and United members can continue to receive care at Hartford HealthCare at in-network rates and benefit levels.”

If the two sides are unable to reach an agreement before the current contract expires, HHC’s hospitals, surgery centers and physicians will become out of network for the following UHC benefit plans beginning on April 1:

UnitedHealthcare employer-sponsored and individual commercial plans.
Oxford commercial plans, and
Medicare Advantage plans, including group retiree and dual special needs plans (DSNP).

However, UHC said it has agreed to abide by a state-mandated 60-day “cooling off” period for its benefit plan members, which means they would continue to have in-network coverage through May 31.

Editor's note: This article was updated to include comments from UnitedHealthcare and Hartford HealthCare.