Mayo Clinic, UnitedHealthcare reach Medicare Advantage network agreement

Mayo Clinic and UnitedHealthcare have come to terms on an agreement that adds the provider to the insurer’s network, the health system announced Thursday.

The Mayo Clinic stopped accepting appointments from out-of-network patients to preserve hospital capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic early this year. The deal that takes effect Jan. 1 will give UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Advantage members nationwide access the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and its other Midwest locations.

“Agreements between Mayo Clinic and leading insurers such as UnitedHealthcare help ensure access for patients who need serious and complex care,” Dr. Lyell Jones, Mayo Clinic’s medical director for contracting and payer relations, said in a news release.

The companies didn’t disclose the financial terms of the deal.

“We’re grateful for the opportunity to begin providing our Medicare Advantage members network access to Mayo Clinic’s facilities and physicians,” Craig Stillman, the CEO UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare operations in the upper Midwest, said in the news release.