Lee Health, the largest hospital and physician network in Southwest Florida, is ending every contract it holds with UnitedHealthcare on December 31, 2026, according to a notice the health system posted directly on its own website. The termination covers Lee Health’s hospitals and physician practices across Lee County and cuts off in-network access for UnitedHealthcare’s employer-based, individual, and Medicare Advantage members starting January 1, 2027. Medicare Advantage enrollees carry the most exposure, because switching plans outside Medicare’s open enrollment period is not automatic. Medigap holders keep their access regardless, since Medicare Supplement coverage was never tied to Lee Health’s network status in the first place.
Two Contracts, Every Location, One December Deadline
The termination ends both of Lee Health’s participation agreements with UnitedHealthcare: the hospital contract and the separate medical group contract covering its physician practices. The change applies to every Lee Health hospital and physician location in Lee County, not a single facility or specialty line. UnitedHealthcare’s Exchange and Marketplace plans were already outside Lee Health’s network before this announcement, so the new termination adds employer-based, individual, and Medicare Advantage coverage to the list of plan types shut out starting New Year’s Day.
Lee Health’s own notice states that the system is ending its hospital and physician contracts with UnitedHealthcare, effective December 31, 2026, after what its FAQ calls years of challenges that it believes affect patients and its ability to serve the community. The notice adds that Lee Health does not currently see a path forward to restoring the relationship. That language, paired with the scope of the termination — every hospital, every physician group, three separate insurance categories — points to a system-wide breakdown rather than a routine rate dispute that typically gets resolved before a contract lapses.
Patients with appointments scheduled through the end of 2026 do not need to change anything; Lee Health remains in-network for UnitedHealthcare commercial and Medicare Advantage members through December 31. The bigger question is what happens to care scheduled for 2027. Lee Health is telling patients not to cancel those appointments before checking whether UnitedHealthcare’s continuity-of-care process, or a legal exception, lets them keep an in-network rate temporarily — an option that exists but requires a direct call to the insurer, not an automatic extension.
The Medicare Advantage Exit Ramp Is Discretionary, Not Guaranteed
Medicare Advantage members who want to keep seeing Lee Health providers after January 1 have two realistic paths: wait for the Annual Enrollment Period that runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, and switch plans before the deadline, or seek a special enrollment period tied to what Medicare calls a significant network change. Federal rules let the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services grant a two-month window to switch plans or return to Original Medicare when a network loss is judged significant enough, according to Medicare’s own special enrollment period guidance. The catch is that CMS decides case by case…