Staff report
IU Health reached a contract agreement with UnitedHealthcare on Feb. 6. The agreement will be retroactive to Jan. 1, 2014, and will allow the estimated 400,000 Indiana patients insured by UnitedHealthcare uninterrupted access to the quality care they have come to expect.
“We thank our patients for their loyalty and patience,” said Dr. John C. Kohne, the chief medical officer at IU Health. “While we are pleased to have reached an agreement with UnitedHealthcare, it’s unfortunate that our patients experienced any unnecessary stress or inconvenience. We remain committed to offering Hoosiers the nationally recognized, affordable healthcare they deserve.”
IU Health and UnitedHealthcare have been involved in ongoing negotiations and were unable to agree on a new contract before the existing contract expired on Dec. 31. IU Health has been granting UnitedHealthcare patients a special ‘in-network’ status to help avoid disruption and encourage ongoing care with their physician while working toward a resolution with the Minneapolis-based provider.
The new agreement confirms that IU Health physicians and facilities are again in-network providers in UnitedHealthcare insurance plans and all services provided by IU Health as of Jan. 1 will be billed as in-network.
