Two months after the impasse in talks between UnitedHealthcare and Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS), there is some movement to report. On September 22, United submitted new contract proposals to NGHS.
“We are currently evaluating these new proposals, but it is not yet clear whether they are a move in the right direction,” says Steve McNeilly, chief operating officer of population health and vice president of managed care operations for NGHS.
It's the first sign of movement in a contract dispute that left thousands of United Healthcare policyholders in the lurch earlier this year.
United's contract with NGHS expired on April 30. Since then, both sides have blamed the other for the impasse.
“NGHS has refused to budge on its demands for price increases of more than 20 percent over the next three years, including a double-digit rate increase in the first year that would have made its hospitals the most expensive in Georgia,” said its Director of Corporate Communications. UnitedHealthcare. Cole Manbeck said in May. “We offered a fair and reasonable proposal on March 31 that included significant rate increases.”
In response, McNeilly said United had “not been honest” about what led to the collapse of negotiations. He argued that NGHS proposed a single-digit increase that would have brought United in line with all other insurers. He called United's offer in March “absurd”, adding: “They know we can't accept it.”
There is nothing at present to indicate whether these latest proposals will be different. McNeilly did not elaborate, and United did not immediately respond to Now Habersham's request for more information.
Finger pointing
Before this current contract dispute, NGHS last negotiated a contract with United in 2012. McNeely said the contract was not keeping up with the changing economy. He said United paid less than any other commercial insurer.
Manbeck said the NGHS requirements at the time would “increase premiums and costs for our members, as well as the cost of doing business for both self-insured and fully insured companies.”
McNeely argued that United could absorb the increase.
“United posted a 19% increase in earnings in 2022, reaching $28.4 billion in net income – earnings that go to shareholders. This is not the case for NGHS. We reinvest all funds beyond operating expenses into projects that improve health care for our communities,” McNeilly said after the contract ended.
Fast forward nearly five months later, on Thursday, McNeilly offered limited hope that a deal could be reached before open enrollment begins in November.
“Receiving the new proposals so late in September – open enrollment is right around the corner – is disappointing as many members have decisions to make for the 2024 plan year,” he said. “Because of that, we're focused on evaluating the new proposals to see if there's a way forward, while helping our patients get the care they need in the meantime.”
On September 26, NGHS announced that it has reached a two-year extension with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia.
