UnitedHealthcare and Hartford HealthCare have until April 1 to reach a reimbursement agreement or patients with UnitedHealthcare insurance will no longer be covered for care at Hartford HealthCare facilities.
UnitedHealthcare is poised to drop Hartford HealthCare Tuesday if the two sides can’t come to terms, leaving thousands of patients uncertain.
The two sides have a current contract set to expire on Monday.
“I pray that on behalf of senior citizens that this gets fixed in a good way,” George Thompson, of Glastonbury, said Friday.
Thompson said he and his wife, who have Medicare, have been using United for years because the insurer covers the doctors they used.
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He assumed that would remain the case.
“Well you think you’re locking in for a 12-month period, and then November of next year, all the cards will be on the table,” he said.
United said it made an offer to Hartford HealthCare Friday, but the dispute continued.
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The insurer claims the healthcare network’s demands would raise costs by $185 million.
“HHC continues to seek price hikes for our commercial plans that are nearly double the healthcare cost benchmark established by the state,” the company said in a statement.
The comment refers to the Office of Health Strategy’s benchmarking goal for healthcare costs to increase by 2.9% per year, or 9% over three years.
According to United, Hartford HealthCare’s requests would amount to a 20% hike over three years.
But Hartford HealthCare, the state’s largest health network, said it’s simply trying to cover increased salaries and costs.
They noted United saw a 7.2% jump in revenues, resulting in $15 billion in profits last year.
“We are very aware of the impact negotiations have on the communities and patients we serve,” the health provider said in a statement.
In the meantime, patients like Thompson are left questioning what will happen to their care.
Thompson said he’s shopped around for new doctors just in case a deal isn’t reached, but has found it hard to find practices taking new patients.
For now, he’s planning on keeping upcoming appointments with his current doctors, but he’s unsure what that means for costs.
“The original appointments were so difficult to get, we’d probably be looking at 90 to 120 days to try to reschedule,” he said.
Some patients do have options. Those with certain medical needs can seek a 90-day extension to make sure they continue receiving care.
Patients on Medicare can take advantage of an open enrollment period that continues through Monday.
