89.9 FM Live From The University Of New Mexico
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

UnitedHealthcare Medicaid Patients Lose UNMH Coverage

Wikimedia via CC
/
creative commons license

UnitedHealthcare is dropping insurance coverage for its Medicaid patients at the University of New Mexico Hospital. The decision comes after months of negotiations.

The University of New Mexico Hospital and UnitedHealthcare had until mid June to work out a contract that would continue coverage for United’s 2,000 Medicaid patients at UNMH. Now the deadline has arrived and no solution has been reached, so all of those patients will see their coverage dropped at the end of the month.

Emergency room and behavioral health care services will still be covered, but if United’s Medicaid customers want to keep seeing their doctors at UNMH for routine care, they’ll have to switch to another insurance provider.

UNM officials have not given details about the contract disagreement, but representatives from UnitedHealthcaretold the Albuquerque Journal it was because of high rates UNMH was charging the insurer for its Medicaid patients. 

Ed Williams came to KUNM in 2014 by way of Carbondale, Colorado, where he worked as a public radio reporter covering environmental issues. Originally from Austin, Texas, Ed has reported on environmental, social justice, immigration and Native American issues in the U.S. and Latin America for the Austin American-Statesman, Z Magazine, NPR’s Latino USA and others. In his spare time, look for Ed riding his mountain bike in the Sandias or sparring on the jiu-jitsu mat.
Related Content