King of Prussia, Pa.-based Universal Health Systems' president and CEO, Marc Miller, said insurance companies cannot continue to "nickel and dime" health systems if the industry as a whole is to benefit.
While health and hospital systems want to be fairly paid for the work they do, payers would also help themselves by looking more at the bigger picture.
"We are trying to work with them; it is more conducive to them … but they can't continue to nickel and dime, [as] ultimately it's not going to meet their needs," Mr. Miller said in a results webcast April 26.
The issue is particularly relevant to behavioral health services UHS provides, he said.
The thoughts echo that of a Boston Consulting Group report seeking more mutually beneficial cooperation in the health ecosystem.
"We can't rely on altruism here but there is a real business incentive for payers to do so," Szoa Geng, BCG managing director, said in an interview. "If hospitals fail en masse, their members are going to have less access to care. If you take a long lens to this, we all have to help stabilize the system."
UHS reported net income of $163.1 million in the first quarter of 2023 versus $153.9 million in the same period in 2022.