Time has run out on health insurance coverage for nearly 2,000 Vermonters

After negotiating for more than a year, the University of Vermont Health Network (UVMHN) and UnitedHealthcare failed to reach an agreement on renewing a contract for health insurance coverage that affects nearly 2,000 Vermonters.

The contract will expire at the end of this year, but coverage will be extended through Feb. 29, 2024, to give those losing their in-network coverage time to find an alternative for health insurance, according to a news release from UVMHN.

"While we were glad that United agreed to extend coverage into early 2024 to help give our patients the time they needed, the situation is still frustrating for patients and families who depend on us for care," Rick Vincent, chief financial officer for the UVM Health Network, said in a statement.

The University of Vermont Health Network includes UVM Medical Center in Burlington, Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin, and Porter Medical Center in Middlebury, plus three hospitals in upstate New York.

Deadline extension on UnitedHealthcare contract negotiations doesn't end up helping

The nearly 2,000 Vermonters covered by UnitedHealthcare were originally slated to lose their in-network health insurance coverage on April 1, 2023, but a week before the deadline, UVM Health Network and UnitedHealthcare announced they had agreed to extend coverage through the end of the year to give plan members more time to find other health insurance coverage − and to continue to negotiate.

More: Federal law protects some Vermonters losing UnitedHealthcare coverage

UnitedHealthcare CEO Tim Archer said at the time he held out hope a long-term agreement could still be reached with UVMHN, but Monday's announcement by the health network that negotiations had failed put an end to that hope.

UVMHN was not optimistic an agreement on a long-term contract with UnitedHealthcare could be reached, saying in March 2023 that, "Based on conversations with United to date it is not likely we will continue to be in-network in the 2024 plan year, despite our best efforts to come to a fair agreement."

CFO: UVM Health Network will continue to lose money on UnitedHealthcare patients during second extension

Vincent said UVM Health Network will continue to lose money on patients covered by UnitedHealthcare during the two months of the extension. Dr. Sunny Eapen, president and chief executive officer of the UVM Health Network, said in March 2023 that UnitedHealthcare doesn't pay the health network rates that "accurately reflect the cost of providing health care in 2023 and align with rate increases negotiated with other Vermont rate payers."

UnitedHealthcare pushed back on Eapen's claim, saying UVMHN was demanding more than a 15% price hike in one year.

"Agreeing to the health system's demands would mean the cost of care at its flagship hospital − UVM Medical Center − would have increased by more than 35% since 2020," UnitedHealthcare said in March 2023.

Here's who's not affected by the end of UnitedHealthcare coverage

UVMHN said Monday that only commercial UnitedHealthcare plans, such as those provided by employers or purchased directly, are affected by the contract non-renewal. The following plans are not impacted:

• Non-commercial UnitedHealthcare plans regulated by the state or federal government, such as Medicare Advantage, Managed Medicaid, VA Community Care Network.

• United Medicare Supplement plans including, but not limited to, AARP plans.

• United Behavioral Health Plans.

• United The Empire Plan for New York State employees.

Contact Dan D’Ambrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosi@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDambrosioVT.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: UnitedHealthcare and UVM Health Network can't agree on new contract