Little Rock, Ark.-based CHI St. Vincent, a four-hospital system, has agreed to a new multiyear agreement with UnitedHealthcare, effective April 9.
Five things to know:
1. The renewal allows patients to maintain in-network access to CHI St. Vincent services across contracted products, including UnitedHealthcare and Medicare Advantage.
2. The agreement covers all CHI St. Vincent primary care and urgent care sites, specialty clinics, hospitals, home health, rehabilitation and surgery centers across Arkansas.
3. Founded in 1888, CHI St. Vincent is the largest integrated and community-based physician organization in Arkansas, according to its website. The system serves communities from all 75 counties in Arkansas and has more than 4,300 employees with more than 300 affiliated physicians.
4. Health system leaders have expressed concern about the growing disconnect between rising operational costs and relatively flat reimbursement rates from commercial payers — a challenge compounded by increasing denials and administrative complexity. Despite improvements in quality and patient satisfaction, hospitals in many markets — especially those facing high inflation — remain financially strained.
5. To address these challenges, CommonSpirit CFO Daniel Morissette told Becker’s the health system has prioritized standardizing contract language and pursuing system-level negotiations to reduce inefficiencies and advocate for fairer, clearer reimbursement terms. With hospital margins under continued pressure and inflation affecting operations in many markets, ensuring adequate reimbursement remains a growing priority for health systems.
