A six-month contract impasse between New York City-based Montefiore Medical Center and UnitedHealthcare still is affecting tens of thousands of patients, according toCity Limits.
UnitedHealthcare and MontefioresplitJan. 1 after they couldn't agree on reimbursement rates. At the time, UnitedHealthcarearguedthat Montefiore is "New York City's most expensive health system" and was demanding a nearly 30 percent increase in reimbursement rates for the next three years. In contrast, MontifioresaidUnitedHealthcare was demanding that the health system "accept rates that are not sustainable."
The impasse has affected 60,000 patients, according to the report.
In a statement toCity Limits, UnitedHealthcare said its "latest proposal to Montefiore would provide a significant increase to the health system's prior reimbursement rates, which were already the highest in all of New York City. Unfortunately, Montefiore is now demanding price hikes of 43 percent over the next five years for its hospitals and physicians, which would drive up health care costs by $434 million."
Montefiore disagreed with that characterization in its statement toCity Limits: "United's claims about our rate increases are simply fiction. In reality, we have only ever asked for single digit annual increases consistent with rates paid by every other national insurer. We can't force United to change its mind, but we can help patients find a path to preserve their relationships with their doctors without United — and that's what we're doing."
Read the fullCity Limitsarticlehere.