Our commitment to you and your family’s health care needs

Johns Hopkins hospitals and facilities in Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C. are now out of network for people enrolled in the following plans, as of Aug. 25:

• Employer-sponsored commercial plans
• Individual Family Plan (IFP)
• Medicare Advantage plans, including Dual Special Needs Plan (DSNP) and Group Retiree
• Medicaid

Johns Hopkins physicians are also out of network for people enrolled in employer-sponsored commercial plans, as of Aug. 25.

It’s important to note Johns Hopkins physicians did not participate in our Medicare Advantage or Medicaid networks. 

Johns Hopkins hospitals and facilities in Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C. are out of network as of Aug. 25 for people enrolled in the following plans:

• Employer-sponsored commercial plans
• Individual Family Plan (IFP)
• Medicare Advantage plans, including Dual Special Needs Plan (DSNP) and Group Retiree
• Medicaid

Johns Hopkins physicians are also out of network for employer-sponsored commercial plans, beginning Aug. 25. Johns Hopkins’ physicians do not currently participate in our Medicare Advantage or Medicaid networks.

Yes. We proposed to extend our current contract to allow our organizations additional time to continue our discussions. This would have provided continued network access to Johns Hopkins. Johns Hopkins refused, choosing to allow our contract to expire and disrupt access to care for the people and families we serve.

No. This negotiation only impacts Johns Hopkins providers in Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C. Johns Hopkins provider locations in Florida remain in our network.

Yes. We want to reassure you that we are doing everything we can to reach an agreement with Johns Hopkins. We will remain at the negotiating table as long as it takes to restore network access to the health system. 

Yes. Medicare Supplement plans are not impacted by Johns Hopkins going out of network. People enrolled in a Medicare Supplement plan continue to have access to Johns Hopkins providers so long as they accept original Medicare.

UnitedHealthcare fully insured members whose plan is sitused in Maryland have the right to receive services from their designated Johns Hopkins primary care physician (PCP) at in-network costs for up to 90 days from the date members received a letter from us notifying them of the termination. We are in the process of sending these follow-up letters to eligible members and expect them to arrive in members’ homes the first week of September

You can receive in-network care from any Johns Hopkins PCP no matter where they are located, so long as your fully insured commercial plan is sitused in Maryland, in accordance with Maryland state law. UnitedHealthcare is taking steps to automatically approve the care received as in-network.

UnitedHealthcare fully insured members who were receiving services from a Johns Hopkins PCP but have not received a letter can still contact UnitedHealthcare to confirm their eligibility and/or request continuation of these benefits by calling the Member Service phone number on their health plan ID card.

In order to minimize disruption for our members, we are also applying continued care at in-network costs for Johns Hopkins PCPs for people enrolled in ASO (also known as self-funded) commercial plans.

This benefit only applies to Johns Hopkins PCPs. Johns Hopkins other providers and facilities are out of network for non-emergent services, unless approved for continuity of care.

If you are in active or ongoing treatment for a serious or complex condition with a Johns Hopkins provider at the time they left our network, you are eligible to continue care for a period of time at in-network costs.

Continuity of care allows people in ongoing or active treatment for a serious or complex condition at the time a provider leaves our network to continue accessing care with their provider at in-network rates for a period of time. These conditions include individuals who are undergoing institutional or inpatient care, are scheduled to undergo nonelective surgery from the provider, are terminally ill, or are pregnant.

Any member who believes they need continuity of care should contact UnitedHealthcare to determine if they are eligible. For information regarding how to apply, whether you might be eligible for continuity of care and much more, please call the number on your health plan ID card. Our dedicated team of advocates are ready to assist you with all your health care needs.

Additionally, UnitedHealthcare fully insured members whose plan is sitused in Maryland have the right to receive services from their designated Johns Hopkins primary care physician (PCP) at in-network costs for up to 90 days from the date members received a letter from us notifying them of the termination. We have sent follow-up letters to eligible members.

You can receive in-network care from any Johns Hopkins PCP no matter where they are located, so long as your fully insured commercial plan is sitused in Maryland, in accordance with Maryland state law. UnitedHealthcare is taking steps to automatically approve the care received as in-network.

UnitedHealthcare fully insured members who were receiving services from a Johns Hopkins PCP but have not received a letter can still contact UnitedHealthcare to confirm their eligibility and/or request continuation of these benefits by calling the Member Service phone number on their health plan ID card.

In order to minimize disruption for our members, we are also applying continued care at in-network costs for Johns Hopkins PCPs for people enrolled in ASO (also known as self-funded) commercial plans.

This benefit only applies to Johns Hopkins PCPs. Johns Hopkins other providers and facilities are out of network for non-emergent services, unless approved for continuity of care.

Yes. Any UnitedHealthcare member that was already approved for transplant services at Johns Hopkins at the time they went out of network will continue to have in-network access for those services at Johns Hopkins.

All transplant cases already scheduled at a Johns Hopkins facility prior to Aug. 25 or those in active treatment at Johns Hopkins for transplant services will remain at Johns Hopkins. They will be covered as in-network.

The Maryland Department of Health has collaborated with us and posted additional information as well as several FAQs for people enrolled in our UnitedHealthcare Community Plan. If you are impacted by Johns Hopkins hospitals going out of network, you can find more details regarding next steps and what you should do, here: UHC-JH-Contract-Dispute-FAQ_FINAL

We know the care Johns Hopkins provides is not only important but also personal to you and your family.

We want you to know you continue to have access to a broad network of hospitals and physicians throughout Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C.

Some examples of hospitals that remain in our network in the area include, but are not limited to:

If you or a family member has questions or needs assistance finding alternative providers in your area, please call the number on your health plan ID card. You can also use the provider directory at myuhc.com to search for alternative hospitals and physicians in your area.

You should always go to the nearest hospital in the event of an emergency. Services will be covered at the in-network benefit level, regardless of whether the hospital participates in UnitedHealthcare’s network.

If you are enrolled in a UnitedHealthcare Group Retiree PPO plan, you may still receive care at Johns Hopkins hospitals, facilities and with its physicians as an out-of-network provider, if they are a Medicare-approved provider that accepts the plan. Your share of the cost will typically be the same as if they were part of the network.

We encourage you to speak with your local hospital or physician to confirm they’ll continue to see you, regardless of their network status. 

For additional information about our Group Retiree plan as well as information on how to find a provider in your area, please go to retiree.uhc.com.

Contract negotiations between providers and insurers are common. At UnitedHealthcare, we negotiate about 2,000 provider contracts every year on average. The vast majority of those result in renewed contracts with no disruption for our members, and also no external noise as the negotiations are handled professionally and behind closed doors.

Our track record of renewing contracts with providers is strong, as evidenced by the fact that we have a network of more than 7,000 hospitals and 1.7 million physicians. We are fully committed to engaging in productive, good-faith negotiation and remain focused on our goal of reaching an agreement that restores network access to Johns Hopkins so that our members have continued access to quality care.

We urge Johns Hopkins to join us at the negotiating table and provide a proposal that protects patient access to care.

This isn’t about money. We’ve reached agreement on financial terms. We value the care Johns Hopkins provides and want them in our network. That is why we agreed to continue reimbursing the health system’s physicians at rates higher than physicians affiliated with some of the top health systems in the country.

The key issue in our negotiation is regarding language within our contract. At its core, this is about protecting access to care. As an in-network provider, Johns Hopkins should not have the discretion to turn patients away.

We have a responsibility to uphold our members’ ability to rely on our network for consistent, equitable access to care they need. Johns Hopkins is demanding language in its contract that would give them the right to refuse treatment for any employer it does not want to do business with. In other words, they are attempting to reserve the right to turn away UnitedHealthcare members at their discretion as an in-network provider. This is unacceptable.

Johns Hopkins is also demanding that UnitedHealthcare be responsible for claims they submit when the patient is not a UnitedHealthcare member.

We know this can be unsettling for you and can cause feelings of uncertainty. We will remain at the negotiating table as long as it takes to reach an agreement. We will keep you updated on the progress of the negotiation, including updates we will share on this website.

We also encourage you to reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns about your coverage or whether a particular provider could be affected. Just call the number located on your health plan ID card.

We're here to support you and want to make sure you have all the information you need.