A widespread, monthslong contract dispute between UnitedHealthcare and Trinity Health has created a confusing patchwork of disrupted access across multiple states.
UnitedHealthcare is the country’s largest health insurer, so its contract disagreements with large health systems affect members across the country from one another, threatening access to dozens of hospitals and their affiliated physicians. That’s what has unfolded with Trinity, a nonprofit system headquartered in Michigan with 101 hospitals in 27 states. It’s also true for the ongoing battle with HCA Healthcare, a chain of almost 190 hospitals. In the case of the former, thousands of patients have already lost in-network access.
UnitedHealth’s battle with Trinity started in the spring, with the two giants duking it out in nine markets covering roughly 200,000 patients. They failed to reach a contract in three of those — California, Indiana, and Georgia — so UnitedHealth members there lost in-network access to Trinity for most of July before they finally agreed on terms. Contracts also lapsed on July 1 in another two markets covering Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York, where roughly 60,000 UnitedHealth members are also Trinity patients.
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