Manchester Memorial and Rockville General hospitals are once again part of the network of UnitedHealthcare and Oxford Health Plans after reaching a two-year contract agreement.
The hospitals’ parent company, Eastern Connecticut Health Network, severed ties with UnitedHealthcare — which includes Oxford — in October after the previous contract expired without a new agreement. Since then, people with those insurance plans who used the hospitals were subject to higher costs because the facilities were considered out-of-network.
The new agreement takes effect immediately, the companies announced Thursday.
Public contract disputes between insurers and hospitals have become more frequent in recent years, although most have been resolved without the hospitals leaving the insurers’ networks.