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Piedmont, UnitedHealthcare Strike Deal After 2-Month Standoff

August 27th, 2016

Piedmont Healthcare and insurer UnitedHealthcare have reached a deal on a new three-year network agreement, after the two let their previous contract lapse for nearly two months.

The agreement means the more than 150,000 Piedmont patients who found themselves out of network during the stalemate will likely no longer have to pay more to visit all six of the network’s hospitals and its physicians. Piedmont and United officials said in a joint press release that the agreement is retroactive to July 1 to avoid gaps in patients’ coverage.

“We are very happy to have found common ground and a way that Piedmont and UnitedHealthcare can work collaboratively to extend high-quality, patient-centered care in our communities,” said Kevin Brown, president and CEO of Piedmont Healthcare, in the release issued early Saturday.

The new contract extends UnitedHealthcare’s online transparency tool to all Piedmont facilities, not just physicians. It also places more emphasis on value-based performance, meaning payments will be more closely tied to patient outcomes rather than the traditional fee-for-service model.

“We are grateful for the commitment Piedmont has made to value-based health care and look forward to working together to help people receive personalized and more connected care,” said Garland Scott, CEO of UnitedHealthcare of Georgia.

At times an agreement between the insurance giant and the Atlanta-area health care network seemed unlikely. Even prior to the contract lapse, Piedmont warned its patients that network officials had little hope of striking a deal with United. And earlier this month, Piedmont moved to terminate its United contract for Piedmont Newton Hospital, which wasn’t included in the dispute.

Health insurance experts predict more of these contentious network stalemates between hospitals and insurers in the future, as both further consolidate and control more market power.