Oklahoma families are caught in the middle of a fight between an insurance company and a group of local hospitals. United HealthCare no longer has a contract with OU Health. Now, families must look for new places to get care, but OU Health may be their only option in the state. “With insurance, my job delivers, it’s a mess,” said Jonna Wolf Davison, mother of United HealthCare. “We sent an outside consultant, and they said they had never seen an insurance company behave like this,” says Robert Mannel, MD, director of OU Health’s Stephenson Cancer Center. “. The two sides are still negotiating to be able to return. In a statement, United HealthCare said it was looking for affordable health care, in part saying “OU Health is already the most expensive hospital in Oklahoma” and that if it accepts OU’s proposal then it “will be 34% more expensive than other hospitals. “With COVID, the escalating cost of providing healthcare – due to labor shortages and of course inflation – is affecting medicine the same way it is affecting everyone else,” Mannel said. Wolf Davison said sick children are waiting for months. They wonder if they can stay in the state or have to take their children elsewhere. I’m ready to go,” said Wolf Davison. OU Health said some of its services cannot be found anywhere else in the state, because they have the state’s only tier-one trauma center, as well as cancer centers and children’s hospitals with certain specialties. “Oklahoma citizens must leave their home state and drive to another state to receive the same care they receive,” Mannel said. One out of every eight to nine of our patients is a United Healthcare patient. It’s not the right thing to do, it’s not the right thing for the healthcare system, and it’s not the right thing for our patients.”
Oklahoma families are caught in the middle of a fight between an insurance company and a group of local hospitals.
United HealthCare no longer has a contract with OU Health. Now, families must look for new places to get care, but OU Health may be their only option in the state.
Jonna Wolf Davison, mother of United HealthCare, said: “With insurance, my job gives it, it’s a mess.
Families are panicking as United HealthCare and OU Health split.
“We brought in an outside consultant and they said they had never seen an insurance company behave like this,” says Robert Mannel, MD, Director of OU Health’s Stephenson Cancer Center.
The two sides are still negotiating to be able to return. In a statement, United HealthCare said it was looking for affordable health care, in part saying “OU Health is already the most expensive hospital in Oklahoma” and that if it accepts OU’s proposal then it “will be 34% more expensive than other hospitals. ”
“With COVID, the escalating cost of health care – due to labor shortages and of course inflation – is affecting medicine just like it is affecting everyone else,” says Mannel.
Families using this provider are currently reviewing their options.
Wolf Davison said: “There are sick children waiting for months.
They wonder if they can keep the status quo or have their children move elsewhere.
“I was going to call and see if there was an option out of state, I was ready to leave,” said Wolf Davison.
OU Health says some of its services can’t be found anywhere else in the state, as it has the state’s only primary trauma center, as well as a cancer center and children’s hospital. with certain specialties.
“It is unrealistic to expect Oklahomans to have to leave their state and drive to another state to receive the care they are receiving today,” Mannel said. “One in eight to nine of our patients is a United Healthcare patient. That’s not the right thing to do, it’s not the right thing for the healthcare system, and it’s not the right thing to do, either. the right thing for our patients.”
