Tupelo-based North Mississippi Health Services severed ties with payer UnitedHealthcare and took out a full-page newspaper ad to announce the separation, Daily Journal reports.
NMHS CEO and President Shane Spees wrote in Sunday's Daily Journal the "termination notification decision is a direct result of UnitedHealthcare of Mississippi's failure to accurately and fairly reimburse North Mississippi Medical Center for services already rendered to [its] members. The current situation is not a matter of renegotiating contract payment rates."
Mississippi policyholders of UnitedHealthcare's individual, employer-sponsored, Medicaid and Medicare Advantage health plans will be affected.
The Minnetonka, Minn.-based insurer is Mississippi's second largest insurer in the large group market, covering about 36,000 individuals and holding 18 percent of market share, according to the report. UnitedHealthcare plans to meet with NMHS officials to discuss the payment issues, with hopes to continue its more than 10-year relationship with the system.
Facilities affected by the severance include NMMC hospitals in Tupelo, Pontotoc, Iuka, West Point, and Hamilton, Ala. NMHS physicians and North Mississippi Medical Clinics will also be out of network with UnitedHealthcare.
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