Aspirus Health

We are actively negotiating in good faith to renew our network relationship with Aspirus Health in Wisconsin and Michigan

We are engaged in good-faith negotiation with Aspirus Health to renew our network relationship. Our goal is to reach an agreement that is affordable for consumers and employers while providing continued access to Aspirus’ hospitals and physicians.

In the event we are unable to reach an agreement, Aspirus’ hospitals and providers will be out of network for people enrolled in the following plans, effective January 1, 2027:

  • Employer-sponsored and individual commercial plans
  • Medicare Advantage plans, including Group Retiree and Dual Special Needs Plans (DSNP)
  • UnitedHealthcare Community Plans in Wisconsin (Medicaid)

Facts you should know

Aspirus is seeking unsustainable double-digit price hikes that are not affordable and would increase health care costs for consumers and employers in Wisconsin and Michigan.

Excessive rate demands have an impact on the cost of premiums as well as out-of-pocket costs for the people we serve, while also driving up the cost to do business for employers.

The double-digit rate increases demanded by Aspirus would directly drive-up health care costs for our self-funded customers given that these employers pay the cost of their employees’ medical bills themselves rather than relying on UnitedHealthcare to pay those claims.

We have a responsibility to provide the people we serve with access to quality health care while also helping to contain rapidly rising health care costs.

We are committed to engaging in productive, good-faith negotiation and urge Aspirus to provide a proposal that is reasonable and affordable.

If we agreed to Aspirus’ demands, health care costs would also increase for people enrolled in our Medicare Advantage and Medicaid plans.

Unsustainable increases impact the benefits seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans rely on.

The states where we operate our Medicaid plans have asked us to support their efforts to provide quality health care coverage to their residents while also helping to contain rapidly rising health care costs.

We take this responsibility seriously and are committed to being a good steward of taxpayer dollars.

We are proposing market-competitive rates that will continue to reimburse Aspirus fairly and similarly to its peers while slowing the unsustainable rise in health care costs.

We have a responsibility to provide the people we serve with access to quality health care while also helping to contain rapidly rising health care costs.

Maintaining fair and competitive agreements with the hospitals and providers in our network is critical to our ability to meet this commitment to our members and customers.

We are committed to engaging in productive, good-faith negotiation and are hopeful that Aspirus will continue to work with us to reach an agreement that is affordable for families and customers in Wisconsin and Michigan.

Our goal is to reach an agreement and avoid disruption in care for our members.

Unfortunately, Aspirus is deploying a familiar tactic of creating disruption in the market, raising public pressure and using the possibility of network disruption as leverage to obtain significant price increases. 

This tactic puts patients, families and employers in the middle of a public dispute instead of keeping the focus where it belongs—on reaching an affordable, sustainable agreement.

We will not agree to demands that would make health care less affordable for the people and employers we serve.

We remain committed to negotiating responsibly and reaching an agreement with Aspirus that preserves access to care at fair, market-competitive rates.

We hope Aspirus shares our commitment and works with us on solutions that are affordable and sustainable.

Frequently asked questions

We have created the following FAQs to ensure you and your family have the information needed regarding next steps as well as details to help meet your health care needs.