Greenville, N.C. – ECU Health remains steadfast in its mission to improve the health and well-being of eastern North Carolina and ensure patients across our rural region have access to high-quality care close to home.

For many months, ECU Health has been in discussions with UnitedHealthcare to renew agreements covering Commercial, Medicare Advantage and Medicaid plans.

During negotiations, ECU Health raised concerns about years of inadequate reimbursement that have strained the health system’s ability to sustain the level of care patients deserve. ECU Health hospitals went seven years without a facility rate increase, and most other years saw increases well below health care inflation.

Physicians across the system went six to nine years without reimbursement increases. During this same period, the inflationary costs of providing care rose dramatically. The cumulative effect of not receiving adequate annual increases over the past decade is that UHC is underfunding ECU Health by 50-60% of inflation-adjusted industry averages.

Rather than working collaboratively to address this long-standing gap, UnitedHealthcare is seeking a proposal that includes a double-digit payment reduction. The proposal would also result in UnitedHealthcare paying lower rates to ECU Health than any other insurer in the market.

UnitedHealthcare has referenced a cumulative multi-year figure of 58% to describe ECU Health’s proposal. That figure reflects adjustments phased in over several years intended to address more than a decade of stagnant reimbursement. Had UnitedHealthcare increased payments gradually over time in line with health care inflation, reimbursement levels today would already be close to where ECU Health is seeking to be.

“Our responsibility is to protect access to care for the people of eastern North Carolina today and for generations to come,” said Dr. Michael Waldrum, CEO of ECU Health. “Ensuring rural patients can continue to access high-quality care close to home must remain the priority in these discussions. At a time when rural hospitals continue to close across the country due to the immense pressures associated with rural health care, we simply cannot agree to anything that would jeopardize the ability of our health system to be here for the people we serve.”

For more than a decade, ECU Health has absorbed rising labor, supply and infrastructure costs while reimbursement from UnitedHealthcare failed to keep pace.

“Simply put, health systems cannot be expected to deliver 2026 care at 2017 prices,” Dr. Waldrum said.

Despite months of good-faith negotiations, UnitedHealthcare has stepped away from active discussions, raising serious questions about UnitedHealthcare’s commitment to how their members in eastern North Carolina will continue accessing care.

“ECU Health remains at the table and ready to work toward a responsible solution,” Dr. Waldrum said. “Our priority is reaching an agreement that protects patients’ access to care while ensuring the long-term sustainability of health care in this region.”

It is important for patients to know that nothing changes today, and patients with UnitedHealthcare coverage can continue receiving in-network care at ECU Health while negotiations continue.

If an agreement is not reached, potential out-of-network timelines will vary depending on whether a patient is enrolled in a UnitedHealthcare Commercial, Medicare Advantage or Medicaid plan. Because each plan type has different contract structures and timelines, patients are encouraged to visit ECUHealth.org/UnitedHealthcare or call ECU Health’s community information line at 833-216-3258 for more information.