Thousands of patients warned they might lose health insurance over contract dispute
NEW YORK (WABC) -- There's an alarming development in the ongoing contract dispute between major health insurers and big-name New York City hospitals.
Tens of thousands of patients are now reportedly receiving warnings that they are about to lose insurance coverage with their doctors.
If that happens, that means they would have to pay hundreds, if not thousands of dollars more out of pocket for treatment with their long-time doctor, or find a new one.
Eyewitness News spoke to one patient who received an email saying she may lose her coverage at the end of May.
Sarah Digby said she sees doctors at NewYork-Presbyterian and gets her insurance from CVS Health's Aetna. She said she struggled for years to find the right doctors to treat her endometriosis.
In response to the story, NewYork-Presbyterian provided the following statement:
"NewYork-Presbyterian and Aetna (CVS Health) are currently in active negotiations to extend our in-network relationship. We have been, and continue to be, willing to negotiate every day and around the clock to continue to provide high-quality care for our patients without disruption. NewYork-Presbyterian firmly believes that our patients deserve in-network access to the trusted doctors and hospitals of their choice. So far, Aetna has presented an unreasonable offer that would jeopardize our ability to provide the best care, and we have no choice but to begin preparing our organization and patients in the event we cannot reach an agreement by March 31, 2024. We are hopeful that Aetna will continue to engage in good faith negotiations to reach a fair resolution that puts patients first."
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