A contract dispute between Corewell Health and insurance company UnitedHealthcare over reimbursement rates at the health system’s legacy Beaumont hospitals could result in over 100,000 patients losing access to their doctors, starting as soon as Jan. 1.
Those patients received letters earlier this month from Corewell, advising them that unless the health system reaches a new agreement with UnitedHealthcare, numerous Corewell hospitals and medical providers will soon become out-of-network for them.
Only Corewell patients in employer-sponsored or individual UnitedHealthcare insurance plans would be affected. Those in UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Advantage plans, including Group Retiree and Dual Special Needs Plans, or its Medicaid offering, Community Plan in Michigan, are not affected.
Corewell spokesman Mark Geary said the health system has been negotiating with UnitedHealthcare for about a year, “and will continue to negotiate in good faith until Corewell Health receives sustainable, market rates.” The number of patients who could be affected is under 125,000, he said, and the potential length of any new contract is under discussion.
With 21 hospitals, Corewell is the largest health system in Michigan and was created by the 2022 megamerger of the metro Detroit Beaumont and Spectrum on the west side of the state.
Corewell East hospitals are the legacy Beaumont hospitals.
“UnitedHealthcare pays Corewell Health East hospitals at rates that do not cover our basic costs and denies claims at a high rate,” Geary said in an email. “Its non-Michigan-based leadership has not actively engaged in contract talks and seems uninterested in renewing the contracts.”
As for UnitedHealthcare’s take on the situation, Dustin Hinton, the insurer’s CEO for the Michigan market, issued the following statement:
“Our top priority is to reach an agreement that is affordable for consumers and employers while maintaining continued network access to Corewell Health. We will remain at the negotiating table as long as it takes to renew our relationship and hope Corewell will join us in working toward an agreement that Michigan families and employers can afford.”
The office of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, which did not challenge the Beaumont-Spectrum merger, had no immediate comment for the Free Press on the contract dispute.
If the two sides fail to reach an agreement, the following hospitals and providers would become out-of-network for the UnitedHealthcare policy holders on the following dates:
Effective Jan. 1, 2026:
Effective May 1, 2026:
Effective July 1, 2026:
Effective Aug. 1, 2026:
Effective Sept. 15, 2026:
Contact JC Reindl: 313-378-5460 or jcreindl@freepress.com. Follow him on X @jcreindl
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Corewell, UnitedHealthcare contract dispute could leave more than 100K patients in limbo
Reporting by JC Reindl, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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