When Global Health Studies Prof. Noelle Sullivan heard that Northwestern was switching its employee health care administrator from Blue Cross and Blue Shield to UnitedHealthcare, her initial reaction was one of “horror.”
UnitedHealthcare announced last July that the Justice Department began an investigation into the company for fraud. Sullivan said the investigation, along with the company’s tendency to deny claims, caused her a high degree of alarm.
Sullivan found herself frustrated with the limited collaboration between NU administration and its workforce before the change was announced, a sentiment shared by other faculty and staff.
“There’s a complete lack of partnership on large decisions that tremendously impact the faculty and the staff,” Sullivan said. “It feels like a slap in the face.”
On June 12, NU announced that all medical plans for University faculty and staff will be administered by UnitedHealthcare starting Jan. 1, 2026.
In 2026 there will be four medical plans offered, with the price of premiums depending on employee salary, coverage tier and selected plan, a University spokesperson wrote in a statement to The Daily.
“By moving to UnitedHealthcare, we expect to slow the growth of annual costs for our participants, while maintaining the comprehensive coverage our employees need,” the spokesperson wrote.
Yet, many employees were left feeling unsatisfied with the switch.
McCormick Prof. Luís Amaral questioned why faculty with expertise in health insurance weren’t consulted by administration before the decision was made.
Amaral also raised concern over the disconnect between the needs of faculty and staff and the shift to UnitedHealthcare approved by the Board of Trustees. He acknowledged the University’s claim that the shift will save NU $7.5 million, but questioned the impact of these savings when the University’s annual budget was more than $3 billion, as of the 2024 fiscal year.
The University did not respond for comment regarding faculty consultation or the shift to UnitedHealthcare, at the time of publication.
Sullivan questioned whether NU would be saving as much money as it claims, with copay and coinsurance costs for the Preferred Provider Organization plan that will nearly double under the new UnitedHealthcare plan. She noted that this change will ultimately result in many of NU’s covered faculty and staff hitting the out-of-pocket maximum for their plan.
After the out-of-pocket maximum has been reached, NU will be responsible for the rest of their health care costs for the year. She said the University paying these costs risks dipping into the planned savings from the switch.
Feinberg Prof. Melissa Simon concurred with Sullivan, noting that the shift may financially disadvantage faculty and staff.
“You’re decreasing the salary of your staff and faculty because they have to pay more for health care,” she said. “It’s a way to cut the salary of your faculty by not paying for more benefits.”
Simon said these changes could weigh down the wellbeing of NU’s workforce, impacting their productivity. She emphasized that shifting health care plans for patients in the middle of long-term treatments could cause a “major disruption in trust and care knowledge.”
The process of changing health care plans creates the “hassle” of calling providers and making new arrangements depending on whether their services are covered under UnitedHealthcare, she said.
“I have myself and four children covered under the health care plan,” she said. “I’m not just calling for myself… so the stress and the hassle factor go up substantially.”
Julie Bednark, a communications specialist at Feinberg School of Medicine, called communication surrounding the shift “very alarming.”
Along with a lack of shared governance, Bednark said finding those responsible for the choice is increasingly difficult due to a growing “lack of transparency.”
Bednark said the provider she was seeing was in a network under Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Under the UnitedHealthcare plan, she may have to find a new provider. Continuing to see her provider at the new out-of-network rates will likely cost her thousands of dollars, she said.
“(I’m) looking around and knowing that a lot of my colleagues are going to be struggling,” she said. “They are no longer going to be able to see their providers, myself included.”
Email: lucaskubovchik2029@u.northwestern.edu
Bluesky: @lucaskubovchik.bsky.social
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