AdventHealth Florida

Our goal is to renew our network relationship with AdventHealth Florida while providing families access to affordable care

As part of our effort to renegotiate our agreement with AdventHealth Florida, we issued a notice earlier this year to end our current contract, effective Jan. 1, 2027. We believe this was necessary to get AdventHealth to engage in a meaningful way that addresses the health system’s costs, which are the most expensive in all of Florida.

We value AdventHealth’s role in the communities we serve and want our members to have continued access to the health system. However, we also have a responsibility to ensure that access is affordable, which is especially critical today as hard-working families and employers are facing challenging economic times.

We know healthcare costs too much. These costs are directly affected by the reimbursement we negotiate with health systems in our network. One of the leading drivers of rising healthcare costs are the prices hospitals charge. Hospital costs have increased by 281% since 2000, outpacing overall inflation by more than three times, according to an analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor. This has resulted in significantly higher out-of-pocket expenses for patients as well as increased copays, deductibles and premiums.

We are negotiating with AdventHealth with the goal of reaching an agreement that reimburses the health system at market-competitive rates while slowing the unsustainable rise in healthcare costs. We are committed to good-faith discussions and utilizing every day remaining on our contract to work toward a solution people and companies throughout Florida can afford.

However, it is apparent that AdventHealth does not share our sense of urgency. The last proposal we received from the health system was on Aug. 14, and AdventHealth leadership recently informed us they would not be sending a counterproposal until mid-November. 

People are counting on our organizations to act. Quality care can and should be affordable, and the families we serve deserve both.

As we continue our discussions, we want you to be aware of the potential impact of the health system’s high costs on you and your family, as well as important information you need should AdventHealth Florida choose to leave our network.

Key facts:

  • Nothing changes at this time. People continue to have network access to AdventHealth’s hospitals, facilities and its physicians through Dec. 31, 2026.
  • In the event we are unable to reach an agreement, AdventHealth’s hospitals, facilities and its physicians throughout Florida would be out of network for the following benefit plans, beginning Jan. 1, 2027:
    • Employer-sponsored commercial plans, including Neighborhood Health Partnership (NHP)
    • Individual Family Plan (IFP)
    • Medicare Advantage plans, including Dual Special Needs Plan (D-SNP) and Group Retiree plans
    • UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Florida (Medicaid)
  • This negotiation only impacts AdventHealth’s Florida locations. Our agreements with AdventHealth providers in other states are not affected by this negotiation.

AdventHealth is the most expensive health system in Florida and has played a key role in the skyrocketing healthcare costs in the state

In most Florida communities, people can drive just a few miles—or in many instances just walk across the street—and receive similar quality care at substantially lower costs compared to AdventHealth. AdventHealth’s costs are 30% higher than the average  of all hospitals in our commercial network in Florida, while the health system's prices are approximately 25% more than the average cost of other systems in the Orlando market. This results in higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs for families

The health system continues to expand through its acquisitions of providers, using its market dominance to further drive up healthcare costs. Since 2023, AdventHealth has acquired more than two dozen provider entities in Florida and increased their costs by 40% on average following the acquisition. This has translated into higher costs for consumers, employers and the healthcare system overall.

Healthcare costs would have been reduced by nearly $550 million for our commercial plans had AdventHealth’s costs been consistent with other systems in the market since 2023

AdventHealth's high prices have come at a significant cost to Florida families and employers. Healthcare costs would have been reduced by nearly $550 million for people enrolled in our employer-sponsored commercial plans If AdventHealth had been reimbursed at the average rate of all other health systems in our Orlando and Tampa Bay commercial network since 2023.

Approximately 85% of UnitedHealthcare employers throughout Florida self-fund their health plan, meaning the employer pays the cost of care while we administer benefits on their behalf. Had AdventHealth been reimbursed at the market averages of other health systems in Orlando and Tampa Bay, it would have resulted in significant cost savings for these employers, allowing them to invest more in employee wages and to support their workforce.

For example, one employer would have experienced $10.2 million in cost savings had AdventHealth been reimbursed at market averages since 2023, while another would have saved approximately $8 million. Four others would have reduced their healthcare spending between $3.9 million to $6.4 million each.

AdventHealth is reimbursed well above market rates for people enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans and our Medicaid plan, driving up overall healthcare costs at the expense of taxpayer dollars

AdventHealth isn’t just expensive for people enrolled in commercial plans. The health system is also high cost for our Medicare Advantage and Medicaid plans.

If AdventHealth were reimbursed at the average benchmarks of other health systems throughout the state for our Medicare Advantage and Medicaid plans since 2024, it would have reduced healthcare costs by approximately $72 million.

The states where we operate our Medicaid plans—including Florida—have asked us to support their efforts to provide quality healthcare coverage to their residents while also helping to contain rapidly rising healthcare costs. We take this responsibility seriously and are committed to being a good steward of taxpayer dollars.

Meanwhile, the premiums AdventHealth charges for our Medicare Advantage plans not only drive up overall healthcare costs, but directly impact the benefits we are able to provide to seniors to best support their healthcare needs. 

AdventHealth is seeking to maintain its current contract, which would increase healthcare costs by an additional $356 million over the next five years

Maintaining the status quo is not an option when families and employers are already struggling with the rising cost of healthcare. Continuing with AdventHealth's current agreement would increase healthcare costs by an additional $356 million over the next five years and by over $800 million over the next decade. That's hundreds of millions of additional dollars on top of AdventHealth’s already-high costs that would be paid by consumers and employers.

We will remain at the negotiating table as long as it takes to reach an agreement that is affordable for families and employers

We know the relationship between people and their doctors are deeply personal and important. We are doing everything we can to reach an agreement and we will remain at the negotiating table as long as it takes to renew our relationship. However, we need AdventHealth to recognize its role in driving up healthcare costs and to work toward a solution that is affordable for the people and local companies we collectively serve.

We will continue to advocate for the people and families as well as employers to provide them with access to quality, affordable healthcare. That mission has never been more important than now—when costs continue to rise, and Floridians are relying on us to do something about it.