Two months after talks stalled 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’s not yet clear if 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 insurance policyholders in a 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 refused to move off its demands for a more than 20% price hike over the next three years, including a double-digit rate increase in the first year that would make its hospitals the most expensive in Georgia,” UnitedHealthcare Director of Corporate Communications Cole Manbeck said in May. “We provided a fair and reasonable proposal on March 31 that included meaningful rate increases.”
In response, McNeilly said that United was “not being honest” about what led to the breakdown in negotiations. He claimed NGHS proposed a single-digit increase that would have brought United in line with all other insurance companies. He called the proposal that United submitted in March “unreasonable,” adding, “They know we cannot accept it.”
There’s nothing at this point to indicate whether these latest proposals will be different. McNeilly did not outline details and United did not immediately respond to Now Habersham’s request for more information.
Finger-pointing
Before this current contract dispute, NGHS’ last contract negotiation with United was in 2012. McNeilly said that the contract had not kept pace with the changing economy. He said United paid less than any other commercial insurance company.
Manbeck said NGHS’ demands at the time would “drive up premiums and out-of-pocket costs for our members as well as the cost of doing business for both self-insured and fully insured companies.”
McNeilly maintained United could absorb the increase.
“United saw a 19% increase in profits in 2022, reaching net earnings of $28.4 billion – profits that go to shareholders. That’s not the case for NGHS. We reinvest all funds beyond operating expenses in projects that improve healthcare for our communities,” McNeilly said after the contract expired.
Fast forward nearly five months later, on Thursday, McNeilly offered limited hope that a deal can 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 since many members need to make decisions for the 2024 plan year,” he said. “Because of this, we are focused on evaluating the new proposals to see if there is a way forward while helping our patients get the care they need in the meantime.”
On September 26, NGHS announced it reached a two-year extension with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield in Georgia.
