My wife and I switched to UnitedHealthcare several years ago after dealing with the constant mistakes and payment delays of a competitor. But the company made a serious mistake in trying to cut payments to Memorial Hospital and its physicians, then threatening to make them out-of-network. Waiting until the final day (Nov. 9) when employees had to make a decision about choosing a group insurance plan for 2013 was foolish, as patients are generally more loyal to their health care providers than their insurance companies.
We couldn't afford to wait for a eleventh hour reversal, so we went with another insurance company. I bet UnitedHealthcare lost a lot of business in greater Chattanooga because of their unwillingness to negotiate fairly with Memorial Hospital.
Ken Dryden