The truth about our negotiation with Lehigh Valley Health Network
Our top priority is to reach an agreement with Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) that is affordable for people enrolled in UnitedHealthcare employer-sponsored commercial plans and the Veteran Affairs Community Care Network (VACCN). Unfortunately, LVHN chose to leave our Medicare Advantage network on Jan. 26, 2026, and is now demanding a more than 20% price hike on commercial plans in just the first year of our contract, which would increase health care costs for consumers and local companies in Pennsylvania.
LVHN continues to spend its time pushing misinformation to the market rather than working toward an agreement people can afford. We believe facts matter. As a result, we have created the following to help you understand the truth in response to the inaccuracies LVHN has communicated.
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| Going out of network for Medicare Advantage members with UnitedHealthcare is not the outcome LVHN hoped for, but it is the outcome UnitedHealthcare chose. | False. LVHN issued a notice to end our Medicare Advantage contract during the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP). This was done presumably in an effort to use people enrolled in our Medicare Advantage plans as leverage during AEP to pressure us to agree to the significant price hikes the health system is seeking for our employer-sponsored commercial plans. The bottom line is this: our Medicare Advantage contract would remain in effect as of today had LVHN not taken these deliberate steps to end our relationship and disrupt network access to the health system. |
| LVHN has been working to achieve a fair agreement with UnitedHealthcare to continue to remain an in-network provider for patients. | False. LVHN, one of the most expensive health systems in eastern Pennsylvania, issued a notice in October to end our contract — during the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP). We attempted to engage in good-faith discussions and delivered a proposal to LVHN in April of 2025 that included market-competitive rates. LVHN did not respond until October 2025, when it issued a notice to end our contract. LVHN also demanded a more than 20% price hike in one year for people enrolled in our employer-sponsored commercial plans. Employers and families throughout Pennsylvania are already struggling to afford skyrocketing health care costs. The leading driver of these increases are the prices hospitals charge — such as LVHN. LVHN’s proposal would significantly increase what Pennsylvanians pay for care, adding even more financial strain for people and employers during challenging economic times. The majority of the rate increases LVHN is seeking for our commercial plans would come out of the budgets of Pennsylvania employers. More than 80% of our members throughout eastern Pennsylvania are enrolled in ASO (self-funded) commercial plans, meaning their employers pay the cost of their employees’ medical bills themselves. Agreeing to LVHN’s demands for a more than 20% price hike would mean these employers have less money available to pay salaries, invest in new technologies or help grow the business. These companies are also faced with difficult decisions about benefits and costs, often leaving them with no other choice than to pass a portion of these cost increases to their employees, resulting in higher deductibles, out-of-pocket expenses, and employee contributions. We know the relationship between people and their doctors is 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. However, we need LVHN to work with us toward an agreement that is affordable and sustainable for the people and local companies we serve. |
| LVHN has identified Medicare Advantage patients in treatment for cancer whose chemotherapy appointments were put in jeopardy by UnitedHealthcare’s actions. | False. LVHN’s claims regarding continuity of care are false. This is just another example of LVHN spreading misinformation designed to create confusion, stress, and fear for members. We are disappointed LVHN is putting patients in the middle of this negotiation by creating unnecessary and completely avoidable disruption. We understand how important it is to have access to quality care — especially when facing something as serious as cancer. We also appreciate that the relationship a person has with their LVHN provider is not only important, it’s deeply personal for them and their families. Our top priority is providing people access to the care they need. That is why we offer continuity of care, which allows people in active or ongoing treatment for a serious or complex condition at the time a provider left our network to continue receiving in-network benefits with their provider for a period of time. Any individual who was in active treatment for a condition such as cancer at the time LVHN left our network is eligible for continuity of care and will be approved to continue care with their LVHN provider for a period of 90 days. We encourage people to call us at the number on their health plan ID card if they have questions regarding whether they might be eligible as well as how to apply. Our dedicated team of advocates are ready to continue helping people access the care they need. |
| Across the country, UnitedHealthcare is using the same playbook — forcing hospitals out of network to gain leverage and leaving patients to deal with the fallout. | False. Nearly 50 million people across the country rely on UnitedHealthcare to access affordable, high-quality health care. Our provider network, one of America’s largest, ensures that every person we serve can access care — whenever and wherever it’s needed. Part of maintaining that network is negotiating provider contracts — about 2,000 each year. The vast majority of these agreements are negotiated in good faith with no disruption to patient care. Unfortunately, a very small number of health systems such as LVHN choose to negotiate their positions through the media and put the people they care for at the center of the dispute, using their patients as leverage to obtain significant price hikes that drive up health care costs for families and employers. |
| UnitedHealthcare has imposed reimbursement rate cuts that violate our contracted agreement. | False. We have always honored the terms of our contract and the reimbursement rates both of our organizations agreed to. |
| For more than two years we worked tirelessly to reach afair and responsible agreement with UnitedHealthcare. UnitedHealthcare instead ignored proposals. | False. We provided a proposal to LVHN in April 2025 that included numerous solutions LVHN sought, while also continuing to reimburse the health system above market-competitive rates. LVHN proceeded to ignore our proposal for the next several months, eventually issuing a notice in late October to end our contracts for our Medicare Advantage plans and employer-sponsored commercial plans. LVHN finally provided a proposal in November 2025, which included demands for a more than 20% price hike in just the first year of our commercial contract. We believe LVHN deliberately stalled our negotiation and failed to deliver a counter proposal for more than six months so it could use the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) as leverage to pressure us to agree to the significant price hikes the health system continues to seek for our commercial plans. LVHN is one of the most expensive health systems in eastern Pennsylvania. Consider how much higher cost LVHN’s hospitals would be compared to peer hospitals throughout the Lehigh Valley market if we agree to a more than 20% price hike in one year:
be $21,000 more at LVHN compared to other hospitals in the region People and employers would bear the brunt of these unsustainable costs. Our goal is to reach an agreement the families and companies throughout eastern Pennsylvania can afford. |
