UnitedHealthcare, HealthPartners reach network deal on Medicare Advantage plans in Minnesota

The deal announced Tuesday is good news for seniors, said Tom Peterson, the owner of Twin City Underwriters, an insurance agency based in Roseville.

“It’s just so important that the seniors are able to see the doctors that they need to,” Peterson said. “And as somebody who talks to a lot of people who use HealthPartners — they’re not going to give up their doctors, so I’m really glad that a really competitive product in this market has the ability to be written there.”

Open enrollment for Medicare health and drug plans started Oct. 15. Insurance agents say beneficiaries who switched out of UnitedHealthcare over the past few weeks due to concerns about maintaining access to HealthPartners can revert to coverage from United if they want.

“If a senior enrolled in a plan already for 2025, they can switch back to [UnitedHealthcare] during this open enrollment period, as long as they do it on or before Dec. 7,” Kelli Jo Greiner of the Minnesota Board on Aging said via e-mail. “They also will have an option to change Medicare Advantage plans from Jan. 1, 2025 – Mar. 31, 2025.”

HealthPartners said its outreach to patients would include seniors in retiree health plans sponsored by employers, such as St. Paul Public Schools, Ramsey County and the city of St. Paul. The school district and county took action last month to give retirees the chance to obtain a Medicare Supplement policy as a more expensive alternative that would preserve access to HealthPartners.

Medicare is a government health insurance program for seniors and younger people with disabilities that covers hospitalization and doctor visits, but not all costs. To handle gaps, many seniors expand the coverage by purchasing a Medicare Supplement from a private insurer plus a separate policy for prescription drugs.