Main Line Health and UnitedHealthcare have an ‘agreement in principle’ on new contract
Main Line's current contract with United for employer plans and Medicare Advantage covers 32,000 people. It was set to expire at the end of June.
Main Line Health and UnitedHealthcare have an “agreement in principle” on new contract and will extend the current contract until the new deal is completed, Main Line Health said Wednesday.
Main Line’s contract with United was set to expire Tuesday, potentially disrupting care for 32,000 people who rely on Main Line doctors and have health insurance through United. The negotiations covered employer-sponsored plans and Medicare Advantage plans.
“For nearly a year, Main Line Health worked diligently and in good faith to reach a responsible agreement — one that reflects the true cost and complexity of the high-quality care we deliver to this community every day. We are pleased to have reached this milestone, and our patients will experience no disruption to their care,“ Main Line said in an email.
Main Line said the preliminary agreement relieves some of the administrative burden for doctors and patients. They include prior authorization delays, claim denials, and excessive audit activity, Main Line said.
United, the nation’s largest health insurer, did not immediately provide a comment.
The company based in Eden Prairie, Minn., this year failed to reach a new agreement with Jefferson Health’s Lehigh Valley Health Network for Medicare Advantage and employer plans. That outcome added to the worry for some patients that the same thing would happen in Philadelphia’s western suburbs, where Main Line is the leading provider of healthcare services.
