Beginning Jan. 1, Duluth, Minn.-based Essentia Health will no longer be in-network with UnitedHealthcare and Humana Medicare Advantage plans.
"UHC and Humana delay and deny approval of care for our patients at more than twice the rate of other Medicare Advantage plans," Essentia wrote in a Sept. 10 press release. "This can cause unnecessary hardships for many Essentia patients."
Essentia will remain in-network with Medicare plans from Medica, UCare, EssentiaCare, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota and North Dakota, HealthPartners, Security Health, traditional Medicare and Medicare supplemental plans.
"This was not a decision we made lightly," Cathy Cantor, MD, Essentia's chief medical officer for population health, said in the release. "The frequent denials and associated delays negatively impact our ability to provide the timely and appropriate care our patients deserve. This is the right thing to do for the people we are honored to serve."
This decision will impact patients seen at Essentia's outpatient and ASC facilities.