Updated April 12, 2024
We are negotiating with Loyola Health System in an effort to reach an agreement that is affordable for Chicago residents and employers
We are negotiating with Loyola Health System to renew our relationship so the people we serve have continued access to the health system’s hospitals, facilities and physicians throughout Chicago. 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. Our goal is to keep Loyola Health in our network at rates that are affordable for our members and employers throughout Chicago.
If we’re unable to reach an agreement, Loyola Health’s hospitals, facilities and physicians will be out of network for the following benefit plans, beginning June 16, 2024:
- Employer-sponsored commercial plans
- Individual and Group Retiree Medicare Advantage plans
- Medicare Primary plans are not impacted by this negotiation. Members on these plan types will remain in-network with Loyola Health.
Loyola Health is demanding a commercial price hike of more than 20% over the next three years which would raise premiums and out-of-pocket costs for our members and employers.
Loyola Health’s proposed price hike would outpace medical care consumer price index (CPI) increases over the last five years. Medical care CPI increased by a combined 8% over the past three years (2020-2023) and by 15% over the past five years (2018-2023). If we were to accept Loyola Health’s proposal, the health system would be reimbursed more on average than its peers in the market due to the significant price hikes.
Throughout the negotiation, Loyola Health has repeated these unsustainable demands, which would increase premiums and out-of-pocket costs for our members as well as the cost of doing business for companies that simply want to offer affordable health care coverage for their employees.
Self-funded employers would bear the brunt of Loyola Health’s price hike demands. More than 65% of our membership in Illinois are enrolled in self-funded plans.
Health care costs continue to be a top concern for consumers and employers, and they expect us to help in making health care more affordable. That’s especially true today, as businesses throughout Chicago struggle to keep their doors open and attract and retain the employees they need. It’s more critical now than ever that we ensure they have access to affordable health care.
Loyola Health’s current proposal would directly drive up health care costs for our self-insured customers, given that these employers pay the cost of their employees’ medical bills themselves rather than relying on UnitedHealthcare to pay those claims. More than 65% of the people we serve in Illinois on employer-sponsored health plans are enrolled in self-funded plans.
As the prices for health care continue to rise, these employers have less money available to help grow their business through things like investments in new technologies or increase salaries for their employees.
We have proposed a multi-year contract which includes a double-digit commercial rate increase that would ensure Loyola Health continues to be reimbursed at market-competitive rates.
In an effort to compromise in the spirit of good-faith negotiation, we have provided Loyola Health several proposals that include meaningful rate increases. Our latest proposal includes a double-digit commercial rate increase that would help ensure Loyola Health continues to be reimbursed at market-competitive rates while helping to ensure health care remains affordable for the people and employers we serve throughout Chicago. Unfortunately, Loyola Health continues to repeat its demands for unsustainable price hikes of more than 20%.
We urge Loyola Health to accept our latest proposal without further delay so the people and communities we serve can have access to care at an affordable cost.
We recognize the relationship our members have with their providers is not only important, it’s personal. We assure you we do not take this potential disruption lightly. Our top priority is ensuring our members have access to the care they need while making health care affordable for them and the employers we serve. We urge Loyola Health to finalize our latest proposal without further delay so that the people we collectively serve have continued access to the health system.