UC health systems reach a deal with Aetna, averting disruption for thousands of patients
UC Davis Health in a note to patients Friday night said it had reached a tentative contract agreement with giant health insurer Aetna, ensuring care would continue without interruption.
The two companies had sent out notices to thousands of Californians earlier this month, alerting them that they had been unable to reach terms and that the current contract would expire Friday.
If the two sides had not hammered out an agreement, consumers signed up with Aetna’s preferred provider organization would no longer have been able to see UC Davis providers at the lower in-network rates.
“The agreement allows Aetna members to continue accessing UC Davis health providers and facilities as part of Aetna’s network,” the note to patients read. “UC Davis Health remains contracted with Aetna as an in-network provider, meaning you should not face the increased out-of-network costs mentioned in our earlier update.”
Officials in University of California President Michael Drake’s office led the contract negotiations on behalf of UCD Health and other UC systems. In statements to The Bee, both parties indicated that the key sticking point were reimbursement rates.
An Aetna statement noted: “We have a responsibility to members and employers in the Davis and Sacramento community to keep health care services affordable and accessible. Negotiating fair reimbursement rates is directly connected to our ability to keep member costs low and maintain access to quality care.”
UC officials, however, said they were seeking an equitable agreement that “would begin to address substantially higher costs that UC’s nonprofit academic health centers, like many nationwide, are experiencing due to inflation of supply and equipment prices, rising labor costs and increasing interest rates at a time when large commercial insurers, such as Aetna, are delivering billions of dollars of profits each quarter.”
UC Davis officials, in their note on Friday, said patients could call 800-282-3284 if they have regarding their care.
