United HealthCare’s bare-knuckle approach to contracting may cost it members. Employers in the San Francisco bay area are deciding to go with other health plans as UHC experiences ongoing difficulties in recruiting and retaining docs.
One of UHC’s competitors is aggressively pursuing UHC customers by offering to sign them up at the same rates UHC was charging.
Prior to acquiring Pacificare, UHC used another company’s provider network in California to service its customers. Now that the companies are merged, reports are that UHC is aggressively pursuing deeper discounts with physicians and facilities. While UHC does have a lot of buying power, providers, especially in California, are becoming much tougher in their negotiation stances.
What does this mean for you?
It remains to be seen who wins the Bay Area battle, but so far it doesn’t look like it’s UHC.
