Overview

• Employer-sponsored and individual commercial plans, Medicare Advantage (including Group Retiree and DSNP), and UnitedHealthcare Community Plans (Medicaid) are affected starting Oct. 1.
• UnitedHealthcare named 10 hospital facilities where network access ended, including Ascension Columbia St. Mary’s hospitals in Milwaukee and Ozaukee and Orthopaedic Hospital of Wisconsin.
• Ascension says UnitedHealthcare is not offering fair, sustainable reimbursement, while UnitedHealthcare says Ascension is seeking unsustainable price hikes.
• UnitedHealthcare says it proposed market-competitive rate increases and a contract extension to keep talks going, which it says Ascension declined.
• Patients report anxiety over canceled appointments and switching providers, though some in active treatment may qualify for temporary continuity-of-care protections as negotiations continue.