Negotiations are coming down to the wire as UnitedHealthcare and Marietta, Ga.-based Wellstar Health System have yet to reup a contract ahead of an Oct. 3 deadline.
About 80,000 people are in limbo as negotiations continue to unfold, according to Georgia Health News.
UnitedHealthcare claims that Wellstar proposed a 22 percent price hike in its initial proposal, making it increasingly more expensive than other hospitals in the Atlanta area.
"Unfortunately, Wellstar continues to maintain its demands for egregious price hikes that are not affordable for Georgia residents and employers," UnitedHealthcare wrote on its website. "Since issuing a termination notice in the spring, Wellstar has provided four proposals, and while it has dropped its price hike demands slightly, the rates it's demanding remain egregiously high."
Wellstar similarly pointed to pricing but claimed that the insurer recycled negotiation tactics across the country in an effort to avoid fair rates, according to the provider.
"For several years, Wellstar has been working to renegotiate a contract with UnitedHealthcare that would result in reimbursements for Wellstar hospital and physician services similar to those from other health insurance providers," Wellstar wrote on its website. "Unfortunately, UnitedHealthcare has repeatedly failed to engage in meaningful negotiations with Wellstar, and we are approaching a critical period where the contract will expire on October 3, 2021, if UnitedHealthcare allows the negotiations to fail."