UF Health's Brentwood facility. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
Published on April 22, 2025 at 4:51 pm
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The eight-month impasse between UnitedHealthcare and UF Health is over. The Gainesville-based healthcare provider announced Tuesday it has reached a hospital-insurer agreement with the nation’s largest health insurance company.
The multi-year agreement will take effect on Monday, May 5.
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People with employer-sponsored commercial plans as well as Medicaid are covered by the new agreement.
UF Health says the agreement will also restore network access at UF Health St. Johns – Flagler Hospital facilities and physicians. Those enrolled in a UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plan would also be an in-network provider through this agreement.
“It was always our top priority to reach an agreement that was affordable and sustainable for Florida families and employers, and this agreement helps accomplish that goal,” United Healthcare said in a statement to Jacksonville Today.
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UF Health officials have previously told Jacksonville Today that 26,000 people with United insurance sought services at UF Health Jacksonville in the months before the previous hospital-insurer agreement with United expired on August 31, 2024. UF Health officials estimate between 75,000 and 100,000 people across its system have United insurance.
“This new agreement provides thousands of United patients continuous access to premier compassionate, academic-quality health care throughout Northeast, North Central and Central Florida,” Dr. Stephen J. Motew, president and CEO of the UF Health clinical enterprise wrote in a statement. “We appreciate the patience of our communities and are thankful for all the hard work our health care team has devoted to our tradition of excellence in caring for our communities.”
Earlier this spring, UF Health officials said they expected to negotiate future hospital-insurer contracts for its entire system, which includes facilities in Gainesville, Jacksonville and St. Augustine as well as Leesburg, Ocala and The Villages.
