If you have UnitedHealthcare employer-sponsored commercial insurance and you receive care at Lehigh Valley Health Network, today is the day the coverage changed. As of April 26, 2026, LVHN’s hospitals, facilities, and physicians are out of network for most UnitedHealthcare commercial employer-sponsored plans — meaning that going forward, care at LVHN facilities will be covered at out-of-network rates, or in some plan designs, not at all.
The commercial contract expiration is the second and larger phase of a dispute that has been building for more than two years. Lehigh Valley Health Network — which is part of Jefferson Health following a 2024 merger — already went out of network for UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage members on January 26, 2026. Today’s commercial deadline extends that disruption to employer-sponsored plan members and the Veterans Affairs Community Care Network, affecting approximately 70,000 LVHN patients who hold UnitedHealthcare insurance across the Lehigh Valley region.
What Happened and Why No Deal Was Reached
Lehigh Valley Health Network and UnitedHealthcare have been in contract negotiations for more than two years. In October 2025, LVHN formally notified UnitedHealthcare that it intended to end its contracts with the insurer. At the time, LVHN set two termination dates: January 26 for Medicare Advantage plans, and April 26 for commercial employer-sponsored plans. Despite months of public statements from both sides indicating a continued desire to reach an agreement, no deal has been reached on either contract.
The two organizations have offered substantially different accounts of why. LVHN, in its public communications, has stated that since 2021, UnitedHealthcare has reduced its reimbursements to the health system by nearly 40 percent without agreement — meaning the rates being paid to LVHN for care it has already delivered have declined sharply relative to where they were when the prior contract was in effect. LVHN’s position is that these reimbursement levels are unsustainable given rising labor, supply, and operational costs, and that UnitedHealthcare has not engaged fairly in negotiations to address them…