UnitedHealthcare is threatening to knock a group of imaging centers out of its network, according to a report published Tuesday.
The health insurer’s disagreement is with Mary Washington Healthcare, alongside six outpatient centers run in partnership with Radiologic Associates of Fredericksburg, Virginia. Both sides have been negotiating a new deal “in good faith” for months, but their agreement is set to expire on Dec. 31, the Free Lance-Star reported.
If they fail to find common ground by then, UHC customers will be forced to pay higher out-of-network costs for imaging services. Stephanie Mounts also noted that Thursday is the last day for certain individuals to choose Medicare Advantage coverage.
“Time is running out for patients to change or select a different healthcare plan," Mounts, who lives in Stafford County and is retired from the federal government, told the newspaper. "We cannot wait for a last-minute UHC decision.”
The imaging group also is the only local imaging provider to offer PET/CT, she noted. Centers involved in the disagreement include Medical Imaging of Fredericksburg, North Stafford, Lee's Hill and King George, and the Imaging Center for Women on the Mary Washington Hospital campus and in North Stafford.
In recent letter to patients, Radiologic Associates of Fredericksburg said UHC terminated their agreement while “demanding that we accept significantly decreased payments for providing care.”
Read more about the dispute from the Lance-Star:
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.