UnitedHealth Group said it has renewed a contract with Envision Healthcare after months of hardball tactics and threats to terminate a relationship with the provider of emergency room services to hundreds of U.S. hospitals. UnitedHealth said the "agreement ensures that all UnitedHealthcare plan participants will have in-network access to Envision’s hospital-based services." Specific terms of the arrangement weren't disclosed by either UnitedHealth or Envision. Emergency room costs, in particular, are costly to insurers and employers and could become a flashpoint for future contract battles between payers and providers. The insurer’s warning to Envision Healthcare at that time showed how serious the insurer is about moving providers to value-based models and the willingness to play hardball to achieve its goals.

Source: Forbes December 11, 2018 16:41 UTC