‘Pain in the neck’ for Michigan patients as UnitedHealthcare, Corewell battle

UnitedHealthcare is phasing out its coverage across Corewell Health’s hospitals in southeast Michigan amid contract negotiations
Hospital officials say about 125,000 patients could be impacted statewide as UHC pushes for ‘market-competitive’ rate increases
While insurer and provider disputes are routine, patients are now left wondering about what comes next

Debra Grinnell of Dearborn is dealing with several complex health conditions at the same time.

Fibromyalgia has left her riddled in chronic pain. She’s had multiple surgeries on her spine and knee replacements, leaving rods, screws and cement throughout her body. She’s hard of hearing, has kidney disease and high blood pressure. Her conditions have caused her to leave the workforce.

“It’s humiliating more than anything,” the former respiratory therapist told Bridge Michigan. Grinnell said she frequently sees doctors at Corewell Health near her home to treat her chronic conditions.

But her family’s health insurance provider has left her and her husband confused about their ability to carry on seeing their physicians.

“I’m seeing a train wreck coming in the distance,” said her husband, Joseph Grinnell.

In November, Grinnell got a text message from the carrier of his employer-provided plan, UnitedHealthcare, about ongoing contract negotiations with Corewell Health that would jeopardize his ability to see specialists in his area. Grinnell, who works for a car rental company, has issues with kidney function and high blood pressure.

“Just looking for other doctors is a huge, huge, huge pain in the neck,” he said.

The Grinnells’ dilemma underscores the fallout from the ongoing and increasingly public negotiations between Michigan’s largest hospital system and the nation’s leading health insurer. After failing to reach an agreement by the start of this year, UnitedHealthcare is phasing out its coverage across many of Corewell Health’s 21 hospitals in Michigan.

exterior of a hospital — Corewell Health Taylor Hospital (Eli Newman / Bridge Michigan)

As of Jan. 1, Corewell hospitals in the southeast Michigan cities of Dearborn, Taylor, Wayne and Trenton are no longer in-network for UHC employer-sponsored commercial plans and Individual Family Plans. Corewell officials say if the situation isn’t resolved, additional facilities in Michigan will be out-of-network for many plans, potentially affecting about 125,000 patients across the state.

UHC said patients receiving care for a “serious or complex condition,” like pregnant women and those undergoing cancer treatment, may still be eligible for in-network benefits for some period of time.

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Corewell spokesperson Mark Geary said in an email that the health system is “actively talking with UHC and we are committed to finding the best solution for our patients.”

Executives at UHC said the out-of-network status of the four hospitals follows Corewell’s “refusal to move off its demands for a double-digit price hike” and that local employers would be burdened with the hospitals’ cost increase.

“We are proposing rate increases that continue to reimburse Corewell at market-competitive rates and also proposed to extend our contract, which would have allowed continued access to the health system while we continue to negotiate. Corewell refused,” said UnitedHealthcare Michigan CEO Dustin Hinton in a statement to Bridge.

“While we remain committed to good-faith negotiation with Corewell, our primary focus at this time is providing our members access to the care they need through either continuity of care or supporting them as they transition to new care providers.”

Those familiar with disputes between insurers and providers note that rate negotiations occur with regular frequency for multi-year contracts. Topics often center on determining fee-for-service rates, patient outcomes, bundled payments and value-based purchasing.

“Contracts are voluminous in terms of both the number that hospitals have and the details that are included in them,” said Laura Appel, executive vice president, government relations and public policy, at the Michigan Health & Hospital.

UHC has seen similar disputes crop up across the country, with some negotiations resolving before 2026, including those with MyMichigan Health, a system associated with the University of Michigan, and Bronson Healthcare, which operates several facilities in southwest Michigan and northern Indiana.

“This agreement represents a shared commitment to offering high quality healthcare that is both convenient and affordable for people in the communities we serve,” said Ryan Horn, senior vice president and chief revenue officer for Bronson, in a statement upon reaching a deal.

Debra Grinnell is not sure who to blame in this situation, but chided both organizations for being “unprofessional” for having the dispute out in the open. Her husband hopes for more movement on the issue.

“If only me and a couple other people say something on YouTube and Facebook, that doesn’t fix anything,” Joseph Grinnell said. “But if they could be overwhelmed with email from 100,000 people suffering the same exact thing, I think it will make a difference.”