Northwest & Oro Valley Hospitals Out-of-Network with UnitedHealthcare As Of May 1, 2017
- May 1, 2017
- Posted by: Tony Lehrman
- Categories: Arizona Health Insurance, Arizona Medicare Plans
We see this sort of thing happen now and again. It always gets fixed sooner or later, usually sooner. Both Northwest Hospital and Oro Valley Hospital are now off limits to literally all United HealthCare policy holders. If you have ANY KIND of health insurance from United HealthCare and your providers are in the Northwest Healthcare network, you need to be aware of this obstruction. As of right now, United HealthCare will not pay your medical bills at the in-network rate at these providers.
This just in via email to us from United HealthCare:
We have an important update about our negotiations with Northwest Healthcare and their participation in our network. Despite active discussions for the past several months, Northwest Healthcare did not renew its participation in our network for our employer-sponsored, individual, Medicare Advantage and Medicaid health plans and is out of network beginning May 1, 2017.
Despite numerous attempts over the weekend to reach an agreement, Northwest Healthcare and its Tennessee-based parent company Community Health System turned down our offer for a five-year agreement that would have kept the system’s hospitals, ambulatory clinics and physicians practices in our network. We made significant compromises in our proposal, and agreed to continue paying Northwest Healthcare the same rates over the next three years, as we had been previously.
We understand and appreciate how difficult it can be when a hospital or doctor stops participating in our network. Members should call the number on their health plan ID card with any questions or for help finding a new network provider or to apply for Continuity of Care. We also have a dedicated website with additional information at uhc.com/northwest-healthcare.
We remain committed to working with Northwest Healthcare in finding an acceptable solution that would renew network access to the health system’s hospitals and physicians.
