UnitedHealthcare, an insurance giant that earned more than $17 billion in profits last year, is forcing North Carolina patients out-of-network by unfairly terminating agreements with doctors and hospitals.
Health insurance carriers have a legal responsibility to provide North Carolina policy holders with access to a network of quality healthcare providers — and UnitedHealthcare is failing to meet that commitment in North Carolina. Sign the petition and demand that it meet its obligations.
Personal stories help demonstrate the negative impact of UnitedHealthcare’s actions. Send an email to takeactionnow@ncwakeup.com and share your story.
Send an email to NC Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey and encourage him to take action to protect North Carolina residents and the healthcare providers who care for them.
Call the phone number of the back of your health insurance card and tell UnitedHealthcare to restore “in network” access for your healthcare provider. You are paying for this coverage and deserve better.
Nearly 15 percent of North Carolina’s 10+ million residents rely on the North Carolina State Health Plan for health care coverage. It’s the largest such plan in the state, processing millions and millions of healthcare claims each year. North Carolina teachers, state employees, retirees, and their dependents have been served by Blue Cross Blue Shield…
As the provider network for UnitedHealthcare customers in North Carolina continues to shrink, another large hospital system in the state may be leaving the United network. CaroMont Health — which operates a 435-bed hospital, a cancer center, and other healthcare facilities on the outskirts of Charlotte — has warned patients that it is in the midst…
With Duke Heath ending its relationship with the UnitedHealthcare Community Plan earlier this month, two of the state’s largest hospital systems are now out of network for Medicaid patients with UnitedHealthcare. That’s on top of the countless provider groups and healthcare specialists across North Carolina who have seen their contracts terminated by UnitedHealthcare in recent years. The…
UnitedHealth Group talks a good game to the investors who buy the company’s stock, but how will it treat the healthcare providers who serve its customers? During a recent earnings conference call, UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty acknowledged that providers are experiencing higher labor costs and other increased costs due to inflation. And he suggested that…
When hospitals and other healthcare facilities are forced out of network by insurance companies, patients may find themselves with limited protection from the No Surprises Act, the federal legislation designed to reduce surprise medical bills. In North Carolina, for example, one of the state’s largest healthcare systems is no longer in network with United Healthcare. That means…
While the federal government rolls out significant programs to improve healthcare for women, UnitedHealthcare’s limited network of healthcare providers continues to create unnecessary obstacles in North Carolina. Here’s the good news. In July, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) introduced the Maternity Care Action plan — a holistic and coordinated approach to improve…
While UnitedHealthcare continues to reduce its network of healthcare providers in North Carolina, the insurance giant continues to rake in soaring profits. An earnings report for the second quarter, released July 15, shows that UnitedHealthcare’s earnings were up more than 22% compared to last year. It looks like the insurer’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group, is on track for another…
Choosing the right insurance company to manage your company’s healthcare needs is an important decision that can impact much more than your bottom line. Selecting the wrong insurer can create unnecessary hassles and increase out-of-pocket expenses for your employees. And when insurers like UnitedHealthcare push trusted healthcare providers out of network, it’s more difficult for…
We’ve been telling you for months how UnitedHealthcare is reducing provider networks across the nation while boosting its record-setting profits. This week, another 20,000 North Carolina patients found themselves out of network with United when WakeMed Health & Hospitals, the largest health system in Wake County, was unable to reach an agreement with the insurer. WakeMed isn’t…
UnitedHealthcare, the second largest commercial health insurer in North Carolina, continues to reduce its provider network across the state. The insurance company has been methodically forcing hospitals and provider groups — both across the state and around the nation — out of network to boost its record-setting profits ($17.3 billion in 2021). The latest news from NC: WakeMed Health &…
It is easy to become immune to the enormous salaries paid to those who lead some of our nation’s largest corporations: $17.5 million at IBM, $23.3 million at AT&T, $24.5 million at Coca-Cola. But last week’s revelation about the compensation paid to UnitedHealthcare’s former CEO David Wichmann last year was truly eye-popping: $142.2 million. For…
“Shocked and saddened.” That’s how Christy K. of Raleigh described her attitude toward UnitedHealthcare when she learned that her insurance company wouldn’t cover the cost of an epidural that she received while delivering her first-born child. The problem: UnitedHealthcare had kicked North Carolina’s largest anesthesia providers — and a host of other physicians and healthcare…
Companies that are self-insured or purchase insurance for employees through the marketplace are among those who should be paying careful attention to issues around network adequacy. When health insurance companies like United Healthcare kick quality healthcare providers out of network, everyone suffers. (Well, everyone except the executives who reap the benefits of the insurer’s record-setting…
NC Health News reports that there is growing momentum for North Carolina lawmakers to expand Medicaid this year to an additional 500,000 low-income adults across the state. A joint legislative committee appointed to study the issue began meeting last month. If North Carolina does expand the Medicaid program, it presents an opportunity for the state to address…
When Congress passed the No Surprises Act last year, it did so with honorable intentions — to protect patients from unexpected medical bills. The legislation requires healthcare providers and insurance companies to settle payment issues without putting the patient in the middle. But there’s a catch. It presumes that insurers like UnitedHealthcare will act in good…
We’ve been telling you for months about the concerning actions of UnitedHealthcare in North Carolina, including how it has kicked quality healthcare providers out of network while racking up billions in profits. And we’ve been asking an important question: why isn’t anyone doing anything about it? (We’re looking at you, Mike Causey.) UnitedHealthcare has a long history of misdeeds.…
The phrase “network adequacy” doesn’t mean much to the typical person, but it’s a term that is vitally important when it comes to healthcare insurance. Insurance companies are required to provide customers with reasonable access to primary care and specialty physicians who are part of its network. In other words, they must have an adequate network of…
Whenever a health insurance company starts kicking physician practices out of network — as UnitedHealthcare has been doing to medical specialists across North Carolina — the rationale is always the same: “These providers are too expensive. We’re trying to reduce rising healthcare costs for our patients.” The insurance companies are quick to portray themselves as the good…
With specialty providers across North Carolina being kicked out of network by health insurers like UnitedHealthcare, it’s important for you to understand how these actions are impacting physicians and their patients. Here’s what one Triangle-based physician recently had to say about the impact on his pain management patients: The vast majority of our patients are suffering from…
One of the most unique aspects of the Covid pandemic is “The Great Resignation,” a wave of American workers who voluntarily quit their jobs this year. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the number of employees who left their jobs set an all-time record in April… and July… and August… and September… and…
We recently talked with a group of long-time North Carolina physicians who are among the growing number of quality healthcare providers kicked out of network by UnitedHealthcare. (You can read more here about the insurer’s decision to limit its provider network to increase profits.) We wanted to better understand how United’s actions are impacting North Carolina physicians…
We recently told you how UnitedHealthcare is forcing many North Carolina healthcare providers out of network. It’s part of a deliberate effort to increase profits when new legislation takes effect in January 2022 — a strategy that limits access to some of the state’s highest quality physician groups and hurts the thousands of North Carolina patients they serve.…
We recently told you how UnitedHealthcare is forcing many healthcare providers out of network — in North Carolina and across the nation — while generating billions of dollars in profits. The lack of access to in-network providers harms North Carolina patients, especially in parts of Southeast North Carolina where UnitedHealthcare policy holders have no access to in-network anesthesia…
UnitedHealthcare, the nation’s largest commercial health insurance company, continues to rake in record profits while reducing access to healthcare for North Carolina policy holders. United is one of the most significant players in North Carolina’s health insurers industry. It is the state’s leading provider of healthcare plans for small businesses (100 employees or less) and…
When you buy health insurance, you are paying for access to a wide selection of quality healthcare providers who are part of your insurance carrier’s network. But if you have insurance from UnitedHealthcare, that’s not what you are getting in return. UnitedHealthcare, the nation’s largest commercial health insurance company, has recently come under fire for…
A large anesthesiology group is suing UnitedHealthcare in two states, alleging the insurance giant is using its muscle to push providers to avoid referring patients to them.
A large group of anesthesiologists is suing UnitedHealthcare in Colorado and Texas, alleging the health insurance giant is suppressing competition by forcing physicians out of its network and pushing hospitals to stop referring patients to them, according to The New York Times.
UnitedHealthcare, one of the nation’s largest health insurers, is being sued in two states by a large group of anesthesiologists who are accusing the company of stifling competition by forcing the doctors out of its network and by using its enormous clout to pressure hospitals and surgeons to stop referring patients to them.
Hospitals are calling on the Federal Trade Commission to examine whether recent behavior of nurse-staffing firms and insurance companies is “anticompetitive,” while also asking the commission to reconsider its study of mergers between physician groups and healthcare facilities.
Jumelia Ambrahamson says these last few weeks have been stressful. On Jan. 1, United Healthcare dropped all doctors in the Montefiore Health System from its in-network coverage. Suffering from severe headaches and with upcoming appointments approaching, she decided to keep her existing specialists.
UnitedHealthcare, he country’s largest private health insurer, is cutting off reimbursement to diagnostic labs that don’t meet certain price and quality criteria. UnitedHealthcare is also taking over the process of supplying certain outpatient specialty drugs to hospitals rather than reimbursing hospitals for those drugs.
Dr. Robin Larabee was thrilled to start offering coronavirus testing at her pediatrics practice in Denver last fall. She quickly discovered an unexpected obstacle: a major health insurer that paid her less than the cost of the test itself.
UnitedHealth Group beat Wall Street expectations for both earnings and revenue in fourth-quarter financial results released Wednesday, as care consumption and prescriptions returned to more normal levels despite fears of renewed deferrals as COVID-19 cases surge.
Envision Healthcare’s 25,000 clinicians are no longer considered in-network with UnitedHealthcare, the nation’s largest private payer, the physician staffing company confirmed Tuesday. The nationwide contract dispute threatens to leave patients with higher costs and surprise bills as Envision clinicians staff many hospitals, including emergency rooms across the country.
UnitedHealth Group predicts it will record between $277 billion and $280 billion in revenue for 2021, according to an outlook released Dec. 1 ahead of the company’s annual investor conference.
Thousands of Gaston County residents who carry health insurance through UnitedHealthcare may face higher costs if they need care at Gaston County’s only hospital after Dec. 1.
Several emergency room physician practices in New York have filed a federal lawsuit alleging UnitedHealth Group and MultiPlan conspired to underpay out-of-network ER providers.
UnitedHealthcare has expanded prior authorization requirements and site of service medical necessity reviews for certain surgeries in an effort to shift surgical procedures to less expensive locations, according to Modern Healthcare.
A warning to anyone planning to give birth or have a procedure done at a Novant Health hospital in Charlotte: You could end up with a surprisingly high bill for anesthesiology services that could cost you thousands in out-of-pocket costs, even if you have insurance.
A class-action lawsuit against UnitedHealthcare is revisiting how overpayment recovery and cross-plan offsetting affect member costs in employer plans.
UnitedHealthcare (“United”), the nation’s largest health insurer, is using a dual strategy to put downward pressure on provider reimbursement rates: (1) strategic contract terminations, combined with (2) heavy investment in its own physician practice operations to allow it to directly compete in the market and drive down rates.
Moody’s Investors Service changed its outlook of U.S. Anesthesia Partners, a group of nearly 5,000 anesthesia providers, from stable to negative due to a contract termination from UnitedHealth Group.
The nation’s largest private insurer has been terminating its contracts with physician staffing firms in a bid to extract lower prices, part of a years-long pattern analysts say could spur other payers to follow.
UnitedHealthcare is dropping hundreds of other doctors in its central and northern New Jersey Medicaid physician network. The move is forcing thousands of low-income patients to forsake longtime physicians.
Florida-based physician services provider Mednax announced Friday that UnitedHealthcare unilaterally cut the company out of its network.
