The latest health care plan to enter into a very public battle with a large provider is Oxford Health, a subsidiary of United Healthcare. And their opponent, Jamaica Hospital of Queens, New York, appears to be on the losing end of an unfair battle. Evidently (free registration required) Oxford and Jamaica Hospital completed negotiating a new contract about 18 months ago that increased reimbursement rates significantly. Jamaica signed the deal, sent it on to Oxford, and went on about its business.
Jamaica’s business is providing health care, which it does for many poor, uninsured, and underinsured folks in and around Queens. The hospital was counting on the new deal with Oxford to help it continue to provide these services to this population.
A few months later, Jamaica figured out Oxford had not changed its reimbursement amounts, and complained to the payer. After a bit of wrangling, Oxford told Jamaica that it would not honor the contract (which it had yet to sign) until the hospital helped Oxford negotiate a deal with an anesthesiology group at another hospital in the same system. Jamaica said no, and after more wrangling, Oxford threatened to terminate the contract.
A termination would have jeopardized Jamaica’s ability to provide a broad range of health care services to the uninsured and underinsured.
As a for-profit health plan, United Healthcare is one of the three remaining dominant national health plans (with apologies to Coventry and CIGNA). United is tough, very aggressive, and not afraid of a fight. While one can take issue with its negotiating tactics, my real objection is to the company’s bad battle selection. Instead of strong-arming a hospital system to force a group of docs to kowtow to its demands, United should be screaming about the unfair nature of the health care system that requires its contracted providers to shift costs to United to make up for revenue lost by caring for people without insurance.
United Healthcare’s obligation is to its customers, patients, and shareholders. It is not United Healthcare’s responsibility to pay for care for those people it does not insure. By using childish tactics in its fight with Jamaica over what are really petty issues, United is ignoring a much larger problem, and one it could, and should, actually win.
While I’m no apologist for United or its management, they are getting a raw deal. Too bad they haven’t figured out they are doing it to themselves.
May
31
United Health the plan that takes from it’s providers and subscribers and gives to it’s CEO to the amount of 6 Billion dollars!!!!!!!!!! It is time for a change in funding.
Joe, you’re my hero. You found a relevant example and used it to explain what I’ve thought for a long time. The health plans have the wherewithal to transform the healthcare delivery system, and instead, they chase pennies on the dollar. Fools, all of them.