Huntsville Hospital reaches in-network status agreement with insurance giant after months of negotiations
A month after planning to terminate United Healthcare’s in-network status, Huntsville Hospital Health System announced Thursday that the parties reached an agreement allowing United subscribers to have in-network services with the health system.
The deal was reached after months of negotiations that resulted in HH Health sending a notice of termination to the insurance giant.
Two hospitals in the HH Health system — Helen Keller Hospital in Sheffield and Highlands Medical Center in Scottsboro — left United’s network’s last month, although Thursday’s announcement means in-network status will be reinstated.
Huntsville Hospital and Madison Hospital were set to become out-of-network hospitals on Thursday, when the agreement was announced. Decatur Morgan Hospital was schedule to no longer be participating in United on Nov. 30.
“This new agreement enables patients to continue to have access to the HH Health care teams that they know and trust. Our patients will always be our first priority,” Huntsville Hospital Health System CEO Jeff Samz said in a statement.
Based in Minnesota, UnitedHealthcare is the insurance brand of UnitedHealth Group, the world’s largest health care company by revenue.
The new agreement covers Huntsville Hospital, Madison Hospital, Athens-Limestone Hospital, Decatur Morgan Hospital, DeKalb Medical Center, Helen Keller Hospital, Highlands Medical Center, Lincoln Health, Marshall Medical Centers (North & South), and Red Bay Hospital.