UnitedHealthcare sent Lee Health a proposal on Oct. 30 to keep its Medicare Advantage and commercial members in network, and the insurer’s Lee Health notice, updated Nov. 3, says the Lee County system still intends to leave both networks starting Jan. 1, 2027. Across the Gulf Coast in Sarasota, Sarasota Memorial Health Care System says renewal of its Medicare Advantage contract appears very unlikely. Neither exit is final until Jan. 1.
The distinction matters because Medicare’s annual open enrollment runs Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, according to Sarasota Memorial, which leaves 26 days from today to change plans. Anyone on a UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plan who uses a Lee Health or Sarasota Memorial hospital, clinic or doctor has to decide before Dec. 7 whether to bet on a deal or move to coverage that keeps those names in network…