Clovis, Calif.-based Community Health System is back in network with UnitedHealthcare and continues to negotiate new contracts with the two other payers it went out of network with at the end of 2022, The Fresno Bee reported Jan. 22.
Contracts with UnitedHealthcare, Cigna and Anthem Blue Cross expired Dec. 31. The system has said costs are rising due to COVID-19, inflation and labor shortages, while the demand for services is growing.
The terms of the system's new UnitedHealthcare contract are retroactive to Jan. 1 and there will be no lapse in coverage for patients with UnitedHealthcare plans, according to the report.
The health system did not give an update on the status of its negotiations with Cigna or Anthem Blue Cross, according to the report. It said it remains "fully committed to entering into fair and stable contract relationships with all commercial health plans that wish to do so."