Hundreds of Vermonters are no longer at imminent risk of losing access to health care providers through the University of Vermont Health Network.
That’s as the hospital system announced a deal UnitedHealthcare to continue to accept the insurance company's commercial plans.
As of Wednesday night, UVM's statement said they've reached a renewal agreement for the next year. However, a United representative told VPR the companies have only come to an agreement in principle. He added that the existing contract has been extended until the end of April and they're still finalizing a long-term agreement.
The news comes three days before the contract with the hospital system that covers United's commercial plans was set to expire because the parties couldn’t agree on how much UVM should be paid.
Many patients were notified about the dispute with just over a month's notice.
In a statement, Dr. John Brumstead, CEO of the UVM Health Network said "this is a partial victory,” citing the need to cover the cost of providing care. "We regret the disruption and stress" caused by the negotiation, he added.
These types of disputes are "not infrequent" according to Dr. Kevin Schulman, a health economics researcher at Stanford University who VPR interviewed earlier this month. He explained they've become more common as health systems in Vermont and across the country consolidate and health care prices rise.
"There's no heroes in this," Schulman said.
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