Some relief for patients of UConn Health — an arm of the University of Connecticut — with Aetna coverage may soon be on the way. The existing contract expired November 30.

State Comptroller Sean Scanlon said late last week that the negotiations between UConn Health and Aetna now appear to be on the “one-yard line.”

At issue in the contract negotiations are the reimbursement rates for services that Aetna pays to UConn Health, a network of clinics and more than 700 providers. Early on in the contract talks, both Aetna and UConn Health lobbed public accusations that each other was not presenting reasonable proposals. UConn Health said its reimbursement rate was among the lowest for hospitals in Connecticut.

Both parties now appear to have moderated their rhetorical tone.

Source: Hartford Courant

More than 15,000 Connecticut customers with Aetna health plans face uncertainty this week after the insurer and UConn Health saw their contract end without an agreement.

Both sides ramped up their rhetoric on Tuesday after the Nov. 30 contract deadline expired without a deal, making UConn Health doctors and Farmington’s John Dempsey Hospital “out of network” for those with Aetna policies.

Although insurer-hospital disputes have ramped up and become more visible this year in Connecticut, the UConn Health-Aetna tussle is the first in the state to extend more than a few hours past the final contract deadline. However, with financial pressures mounting on hospital systems, more contract disputes like Aetna vs. UConn Health are likely to emerge this month.

“The insurance carriers are saying we’re trying to save the patients money, and the providers are saying we’re trying to provide the best care that we can,” a healthcare advocate said. “So not that anybody is completely wrong in this process, but it does leave the patients to be in a very difficult position.”

Source: CT Post

The negotiations between UConn Health — the parent of John Dempsey Hospital, a network of clinics and more than 700 providers — and Hartford-based Aetna, the health insurance giant owned by CVS Health Corp., remain at odds over reimbursement rates for services.

The current contract is set to expire on November 30, 2025, although Connecticut law allows for a grace period for some medical services. Both sides are continuing to negotiate.

Source: Hartford Courant, via Yahoo! News