Insurance contracts with UnitedHealthcare set to expire amid negotiations
Commercial health insurance contracts between UnitedHealthcare and USA Health University Hospital and USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital will expire if an agreement cannot be reached by Sept. 30, 2026.
For more than a year, USA Health has worked to reach a fair agreement with UnitedHealthcare. Despite those efforts, an agreement has not been reached.
Beginning Oct. 1, 2026, commercial UnitedHealthcare members will no longer have in-network coverage at any USA Health hospital, which could result in higher out-of-pocket costs for patients. USA Health Providence Hospital has been out of network since Nov. 15, 2025.
UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage and Veterans Community Care Network plans will remain in network at University Hospital and Children’s & Women’s Hospital. UnitedHealthcare Veterans Community Care remains in network at Providence Hospital.
UnitedHealthcare is required by federal law to cover emergency services, which include visits to emergency departments at all USA Health facilities.
USA Health-employed physicians will remain in-network with UnitedHealthcare insurance products. Patients with questions about their specific coverage should contact UnitedHealthcare using the phone number on the back of their insurance card.
“As the only integrated academic health system in the region, our responsibility is to our patients and the communities we serve. We care for patients with some of the most complex medical needs in our region while maintaining critical services that communities depend on, including trauma care, pediatric specialty care, cancer care and other advanced services,” said Natalie Fox, DNP, CEO of USA Health.
USA Health is home to the area’s only Level I trauma center, the region’s only Level III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), an academic cancer institute and hundreds of physicians delivering highly specialized care.
“Academic medicine is different,” Fox said. “In addition to caring for some of the region’s most vulnerable patients, we educate tomorrow’s physicians, train the region’s future healthcare workforce, conduct research that advances medicine and provide services that are not available elsewhere in our region. Fair reimbursement helps ensure we can continue providing these lifesaving services to everyone who depends on us.”
Across the country, many other large health systems have faced similar contract disputes with UnitedHealthcare, including Infirmary Health, UAB, Huntsville Hospital and Johns Hopkins Medicine. Common concerns raised during these negotiations include reimbursement that does not keep pace with the rising cost of providing highly specialized care, increasing administrative burdens, delayed payments and claim denials that can create barriers to patient care.
While the cost of providing healthcare has risen dramatically, the rate at which UnitedHealthcare pays USA Health has remained unchanged since 2019, even as labor and supply costs have surged by approximately 35%.
UnitedHealthcare denies 325% more claims at University Hospital and Children’s & Women’s Hospital than its competitors, creating unnecessary red tape for physicians and potentially delaying or denying patient care.
While health systems across the country continue to face significant financial pressures, UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare, has reported approximately $223.8 billion in revenue and $11.8 billion in net earnings during the first six months of 2026.
USA Health is seeking an agreement that appropriately supports the delivery of highly specialized care for the communities it serves and ensures patients continue to have access to the physicians and services they depend on.
“Our goal has always been to ensure our patients can continue receiving the care they need from the providers they know and trust,” expressed Fox. “When someone experiences a devastating injury, welcomes a critically ill newborn or faces a complex diagnosis, they shouldn't have to worry about whether their health insurance will allow them to receive care. That's why reaching a fair agreement with UnitedHealthcare is so important."
USA Health remains committed to good-faith negotiations and to reaching a fair, sustainable agreement with UnitedHealthcare that protects patients’ access to the high-quality care they deserve.
For patients interested in moving to another health insurance plan that allows in-network coverage, plans accepted by USA Health include:
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama – Commercial and Medicare Advantage
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi – Blue Card
- Humana – ChoiceCare, Military Tricare – AL, Medicare Advantage HMO and PPO
- Cigna – Commercial and Cigna Healthspring – Medicare Advantage
- Aetna - Commercial and Medicare Advantage
- Viva – Health and Medicare Advantage
- Medicaid – Alabama and Mississippi
- Medicare – Alabama and Railroad
- Ambetter – Alabama and Mississippi Exchange/Marketplace plans
- Devoted Health – Medicare Advantage
- Magnolia – Mississippi Exchange Plan
- Mississippi Physician Care Network – MPCN – PPO
- Molina – Mississippi CHIP – CAN – Exchange
- Multiplan Inc – Alabama
- Trucare of Mississippi
- Wellcare of Mississippi – Medicare Advantage
UnitedHealthcare plan holders can learn more by visiting www.usahealthsystem.com/united.
Patients who have questions about access to coverage can call the phone number on the back of their insurance card for information about physicians and hospitals that accept UnitedHealthcare insurance.
