In a June 12 letter to Ms. Porter, Rob Falkenberg, CEO of UnitedHealthcare in California, responded to her questions. Here are three takeaways from his letter, which was shared with Becker’s Hospital Review:
1. Addressing Ms. Porter’s assertion that recent moves to terminate provider contracts have led to narrower provider networks, Mr. Falkenberg said UnitedHealth has added 100,000-plus physicians to its network in the last year, with about 19,000 of them added in 2020.
2. From January through May 2020, Mr. Falkenberg said contracts with 1.5 percent of UnitedHealth’s network physicians were terminated, and “the majority of these terminations were either initiated by the physicians themselves or were the result of administrative issues such as the provider losing admitting privileges at an in-network hospital.”
3. Of the more than 2,000 contracts UnitedHealth negotiates each year, Mr. Falkenberg said most contract disputes don’t end in termination. “When comparing the number of physicians who left the network with the number who joined, our network grew by nearly 5,400 physicians from January through May of 2019 and by more than 8,000 physicians during that same timeframe this year,” the letter reads.
To learn more about Ms. Porter’s letter to UnitedHealth Group, click here.
More articles on payers:
Optum hires ex-BCBSNC CEO to lead care solutions
Physician survey: High deductibles ‘an idea that turned out to be bad’
Highmark to grow to 6M members through new deal
At the Becker's 11th Annual IT + Revenue Cycle Conference: The Future of AI & Digital Health, taking place September 14–17 in Chicago, healthcare executives and digital leaders from across the country will come together to explore how AI, interoperability, cybersecurity, and revenue cycle innovation are transforming care delivery, strengthening financial performance, and driving the next era of digital health. Apply for complimentary registration now.
