SSM Health, UnitedHealthcare negotiate as health insurance contract is set to expire

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

EDITOR'S NOTE: AI was used to help research the background for this story.

SSM Health is negotiating with UnitedHealthcare, with a deadline of Dec. 31, when the current contract runs out.

If an agreement is not reached by the end of the year, patients with UnitedHealthcare coverage would lose in-network access to SSM Health's hospitals, clinics and providers across Missouri.

SSM Health encouraged patients to contact UnitedHealthcare to complain about losing care. SSM also encouraged patients with employer-sponsored coverage to speak with their HR departments.

"United Healthcare has a history of aggressive negotiations that impact patients directly. We are focused on patients getting the right care, at the right time, with the highest quality providers," Justin Morley, interim regional president with SSM Health in Mid-Missouri, said in a written statement.

According to the release, UnitedHealthcare has been making patients' access to care difficult, including delaying and denying care.

"Their unwillingness to recognize mission-based hospitals' rising costs and increasingly complex patient needs, UHC has declined to offer reimbursement rates that sustain access to care," the release said. "UHC’s decision could lead to patients not having full access to high-quality care, higher out-of-pocket costs and fewer care options for thousands of Missouri families."

SSM and UnitedHealthcare did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday morning.

This is an ongoing story.