Dayton, Ohio-based Premier Health and UnitedHealthcare agreed to a new, multiyear contract, effective Jan. 1.
The agreement concludes a seven-month impasse between the organizations, during which UnitedHealthcare's commercial policyholders faced out-of-network prices to access Premier Health services. Premier Health said the new contract ensures 200,000 UnitedHealthcare members with commercial and Medicare Advantage coverage will have in-network access to its hospitals and Premier Physician Network.
A contract between Premier Health and UnitedHealthcare expired in May 2017 after the parties disputed an aspect of UnitedHealthcare's plan design. Under UnitedHealthcare's plan, hospitals and providers are ranked in tiers. What tier a hospital or provider is ranked at depends on cost and quality metrics.