Mayo Clinic is not scheduling appointments for seniors in certain Medicare Advantage health plans because their insurers haven't negotiated contracts for in-network access to the world-renowned medical center.
The clinic said it stopped making appointments for these patients this winter to address capacity concerns. But the change also hints at a financial dispute over payment rates between Mayo and UnitedHealthcare, the health insurance giant based in Minnetonka.
In recent years, Mayo Clinic has seen significant uptick in patients coming to Rochester with coverage from "non-contract" Medicare Advantage health insurers — so much so, in fact, that clinic officials say the increase threatens to crowd out patients covered by in-network insurers.
