According to letters sent to Florida residents who have United Healthcare insurance, if a new contract with the Florida Hospital system is not reached by August 15th, Florida Hospital will no longer be accepting patients who are insured by United Healthcare.
The two entities have been at the bargaining table since last November and have yet to reach an agreement. It probably doesn’t need to be stated, but the sticking point for both sides is money. Florida Hospital wants increased reimbursement rates and United Healthcare is not going for it. And it appears there will be no agreement before the August 15th deadline.
And who gets the brunt of this stalemate? The patient of course. Doctors who are employed by Florida Hospital who have been treating United Healthcare customers will now be considered out-of-network. This means that there is either no reimbursement for medical services provided by them, or it is a ridiculously low reimbursement rate so as to make it unaffordable.
If the patient’s doctor does not have hospital privileges with any other facility, the patient’s only course of action is to change doctors. This situation can be devastating to a patient who is in the middle of treating a serous ailment, or to someone who has a long-standing relationship with their doctor.
When will those in the healthcare profession realize that it’s not all about the dollars and cents? There are real people being affected by those who are making these decisions and the patient is being held hostage as a result.
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One Comment
Alex
I think you mean brunt instead of blunt.
but regardless, I am one of those patients who sees a surgeon who is only affiliated with Florida Hospital. If these contracts do not get negotiated I will be forced to have upcoming surgery canceled and find a new surgeon. Simply put this is detrimental to my health as my current surgeon knows me, my history and my conditions very well.
Both parties here are at blame. UHC is showing record profts as is Florida Hospital who themselves are not shy to charge ridiculous amounts for simple procedures. My last surgery at their hospital was on an in-patient basis and I was there for no longer than 5 hours produced a bill of close to $18,000 - that is for MINOR surgery and no overnight stay.
If the negotiations do work out it means that the insured members of UHC will surely be paying higher premiums. I am already paying 50% more than I did two years ago.
I wish that all of those involved in the medical industry, hospital owners and insurers had to take the Hippocratic Oath.
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