The negotiation between USA Health and UnitedHealthcare has been going on for more than a year. The payment dispute behind it goes back further — seven years, to be exact.
According to USA Health, the rates UnitedHealthcare pays University Hospital and Children’s & Women’s Hospital in Mobile have not changed since 2019. In that same period, the health system says its labor and supply costs have risen approximately 35 percent. If no agreement is reached by September 30, both hospitals go out of network for UnitedHealthcare commercial members starting October 1. (USA Health, August 2026)
This Isn’t Just One Hospital. It’s the Only Hospital for Miles.
University Hospital is the only Level I trauma center in southwest Alabama. It is the primary referral center for patients across southwest Alabama, southeast Mississippi, and portions of northwest Florida. Its burn unit is the only comprehensive burn care facility in the region. Its stroke program has held national recognition since 2008.
Children’s & Women’s Hospital, connected to the same campus, houses the region’s only Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. It runs the state’s only accredited fetal echocardiography lab and the area’s only dedicated Pediatric Emergency Center, open around the clock. It is one of four designated autism centers in all of Alabama, and the only clinic in the Mobile area with board-certified pediatric infectious disease physicians. (USA Health)…