New York, NY, September 25, 2009 -
New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) has signed an expanded, multi-year agreement with UnitedHealthcare.  Under the new agreement, UnitedHealthcare and its Oxford Health Plan, as well as its Medicare and Medicaid (Family Health Plus and Child Health Plus) health plan participants will have in-network access to HHC’s 11 hospitals, four skilled nursing facilities, six large diagnostic and treatment centers, and 80 community-based health centers.

"We are delighted that our contract with UnitedHealthcare and its affiliates will offer more New Yorkers access to care at all of HHC hospitals. Our entry into this vast network of commercial health insurance underscores our competitive, quality services and our recent significant achievements at the leading edge of patient safety, health information technology and chronic disease management," said HHC President Alan D. Aviles.  "This new partnership also supports our work to further diversify our patient base and attract more referrals from the thousands of community physicians with whom we have forged relationships."

New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation’s hospitals – which are affiliated with all of the city’s major medical schools and comprise the largest municipal hospital system in the country – include six level 1 trauma centers, nine designated stroke centers, two regional perinatal centers, two burn centers and the only hospital in New York City to receive a “Baby-Friendly” breast-feeding achievement designation by the World Health Organization. 

“We believe our health plan customers will appreciate greater access to NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation, a group of public hospitals that scores exceedingly well on federally reported evidence-based quality standards for care,” said Dr. Sanford Cohen, chief medical officer of UnitedHealthcare’s northeast region.  “This agreement underscores our belief that productive, collaborative relationships among physicians, hospitals and payers are an important step in ensuring more people have convenient access to cost-efficient care and in modernizing our nation’s health care system.”

About NYC Health & Hospital Corporation
The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), is a $6.3 billion integrated healthcare delivery system and the largest municipal healthcare organization in the country. HHC serves 1.3 million New Yorkers every year and nearly 450,000 who are uninsured. HHC provides medical, mental health and substance abuse services through its 11 acute care hospitals, four skilled nursing facilities, six large diagnostic and treatment centers and more than 80 community based clinics.  HHC Health and Home Care also provides health services at home for New Yorkers.  To learn more about HHC, visit www.nyc.gov/hhc.

About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare (www.unitedhealthcare.com) provides a full spectrum of consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services to individuals, public sector employers and businesses of all sizes, including more than half of the Fortune 100 companies.  The company organizes access to quality, affordable health care services on behalf of more than 25 million individual consumers, contracting directly with approximately 590,000 physicians and care professionals and more than 4,900 hospitals to offer them broad, convenient access to services nationwide.  UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company.