Dayton, Ohio-based Premier Health and Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealthcare have yet to ink a provider agreement as of April 21, 2 News reports.
An in-network contract between Premier and UnitedHealthcare is set to expire April 29 for employer-sponsored health plans and Medicare beneficiaries, and May 13 for Medicaid coverage. If negotiations stall, roughly 70,000 policyholders could pay more out-of-pocket for services at Premier.
The parties have not been able to resolve a dispute related to how UnitedHealthcare ranks hospitals and providers. To promote price transparency, the payer ranks hospitals and providers in tiers, based on various cost and quality metrics, according to Dayton Daily News.