Two weeks remain on the truce between NewYork-Presbyterian and UnitedHealthcare. Under a short extension, most UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage members can still use the hospital system as in-network care through October 31. Without a new contract, it goes out of network on November 1, and patients already in active treatment get until January 29, 2027.
The timing is awkward. Medicare’s yearly window to change plans opened October 15 and runs through December 7, so members have to choose 2027 coverage while the hospital dispute is still open. The hospital’s own patient notice, last updated September 29, lists no agreement.
What the extension covers
NewYork-Presbyterian says on its UnitedHealthcare notice page that the two sides “have agreed to extend current in-network coverage through October 31, 2026, for Medicare Advantage members.” UnitedHealthcare had earlier told members the hospitals would go out of network on October 1, so the extension bought one more month.
The notice names the Columbia and Weill Cornell campuses, Allen Hospital, Brooklyn Methodist, Lower Manhattan Hospital, Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian Queens and the Hudson Valley hospital. It also reaches the system’s medical group practices in Brooklyn, Hudson Valley, Queens and Westchester.
Which plans are caught, and which are not
In New York, UnitedHealthcare sells under three names: UnitedHealthcare, Oxford Health Plans and Sierra Health and Life Insurance Company. The notice says that without a deal the hospitals would be out of network for “most” UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage members. The group at stake is anyone on one of those plans who sees a doctor at these hospitals.
Some coverage is untouched. The notice says UnitedHealthcare’s changes do not affect AARP Medigap or supplemental policies, or Group Retiree PPO plans. Individual policies and group HMO plans that carry out-of-network benefits may still pay for care at the hospital, though the notice does not say how much.
For anyone on a UnitedHealthcare, Oxford or Sierra Medicare Advantage plan with a surgeon, cardiologist or oncologist at one of these hospitals, the problem is now concrete. Which 2027 plan keeps that hospital in network? The answer has to be settled before December 7, and it starts with checking each doctor and each hospital against each plan’s network.
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What stays in network after November 1
Physicians from ColumbiaDoctors and Weill Cornell Medicine “will remain in-network,” the notice says. That does not carry the building with it. Facility services such as testing, procedures and admissions “may not be covered as in-network” starting November 1, so a covered doctor can still send a patient to an uncovered hospital.
Patients in an active course of treatment before November 1 are generally treated as in network until January 29, 2027. Non-emergency visits starting January 30 would be out of network unless UnitedHealthcare approves them. Pregnant patients stay in network for the pregnancy and postpartum care, which the notice says can run past 90 days.
The hospital also tells patients with appointments after October 31 that they “may want to contact your Care Team to see if an earlier appointment is available.” For anyone who can move a routine visit into the next two weeks, that is the only way to use the extension before it ends.
A fight that started last winter
This is not the first deadline. CBS New York reported in December 2025 that UnitedHealthcare had warned members in October that the hospital could leave its Medicare Advantage network on January 1, 2026. A UnitedHealthcare spokesperson said then: “Our goal is to reach an agreement that is affordable while maintaining continued network access to NYP.”
Judy Losasso, 81, a Medicare Advantage member and cancer survivor, told the station she did not want “to start all over again to get three or four new doctors.” The hospital’s position in that report was that UnitedHealthcare had chosen to exclude it. The hospital’s notice now points members to the October 31 and January 29 dates.
Why a November switch still starts in January
Medicare’s joining a plan page says changes made from October 15 to December 7 take effect January 1, and the new plan must receive the request by December 7. A member who switches next week is therefore still in the old plan on November 1. If no deal arrives, those two months of hospital care fall under the out-of-network rules, with the January 29 protection for people already in treatment.
People already in a Medicare Advantage plan get a second chance. Medicare says a separate Medicare Advantage open enrollment runs January 1 to March 31 and lets them switch to another Medicare Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare. Medicare’s Plan Finder is the official place to look up plans, and Medicare answers questions at 1-800-633-4227.
Members weighing Original Medicare with a Medigap policy have one more check to make. Medicare’s Medigap page says that outside a Medigap open enrollment period “there’s no federal guarantee that an insurance company will sell you a Medigap policy.” The insurer should be asked before Medicare Advantage is dropped.
NewYork-Presbyterian’s notice leaves one thing open, and it is the thing that matters most: whether a contract arrives before October 31. Until it does, every member on these plans faces the same question. Which plan keeps this hospital for 2027, and can it be decided before December 7?
Is your NewYork-Presbyterian doctor in your 2027 plan?
Once January 29 passes, non-emergency visits at these hospitals are out of network unless UnitedHealthcare approves them, and a plan picked on premium alone can leave a surgery or a hospital stay uncovered.
The 2027 Medicare Open Enrollment Decision Kit compares a current plan against others on cost, drugs and doctors, with a cost calculator spreadsheet that compares plans on cost, drugs and doctors and a prescription-by-plan comparison. Part 2, the Drug and Doctor Coverage Check, lines each doctor and drug up against each plan.
Test 2027 plans against your NewYork-Presbyterian doctors in a cost calculator →
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This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
David M. Keller is a finance writer based in Columbus, Ohio, covering personal finance and consumer-focused economic topics. He earned his degree in journalism from Ohio University and began his career reporting on local business and economic trends for a regional media outlet. Since then, he has contributed to a variety of online publications, focusing on clear, practical coverage of topics such as cost of living, debt, and everyday financial decision-making.
