AdventHealth’s hospitals, clinicians and services across Florida will be out of network for UnitedHealthcare members starting Jan. 1, 2027, unless the two sides sign a new contract, AdventHealth tells patients. The current agreement ends Dec. 31, 2026. For UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage members, that date arrives 24 days after Medicare open enrollment closes on Dec. 7.
The people with something to decide are UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage members who see an AdventHealth doctor or use an AdventHealth hospital in Florida. AdventHealth’s page says that right now nothing has changed and that patients can keep their appointments and keep scheduling as usual. The open question is whether a signed contract exists by the time open enrollment ends; UnitedHealthcare says no agreement has been reached.
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Where do AdventHealth and UnitedHealthcare stand today?
UnitedHealthcare’s page on the dispute, updated Oct. 29, says it issued notice to end the contract effective Jan. 1, 2027, and that members keep network access through Dec. 31. It says negotiations are continuing, that AdventHealth’s last proposal came Aug. 14, and that AdventHealth has said it will not send a counterproposal until mid-November.
The insurer’s argument is about price. Bryan Palmer, CEO of UnitedHealthcare of Florida, wrote that the company will “remain at the negotiating table as long as it takes to reach a fair agreement for Floridians” in a message to the people it serves, and that AdventHealth’s cost of care runs 30% above the average of other Florida health systems. AdventHealth says it is not seeking rate increases above inflation. WFTV reported on Sept. 25 that the system wants a deal that helps cover rising operating costs while keeping access to its network.
Which UnitedHealthcare plans would lose AdventHealth?
UnitedHealthcare lists four groups that would be affected from Jan. 1 without an agreement:
- Medicare Advantage plans, including dual special needs plans and group retiree plans
- Individual and Family Plans sold on the exchange
- Employer-sponsored commercial plans, including Neighborhood Health Partnership
- UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Florida, the Medicaid plan
AdventHealth’s page says all clinicians and services across all of its Florida locations would be affected. WFTV’s report places the dispute in Central Florida, and neither side’s page lists individual hospitals.
What stays available if no deal is reached?
Emergency care does not depend on the contract. AdventHealth’s page says that regardless of whether a plan is in network, patients will always have access to emergency care at AdventHealth. Members who are pregnant or receiving treatment for a complex or critical chronic illness may be able to apply for continuity of care through UnitedHealthcare, which decides eligibility case by case.
Everything else depends on the network. AdventHealth’s page tells patients to look for plans that include the system during open enrollment and to call UnitedHealthcare at the number on the back of the insurance card. WFTV says AdventHealth points patients to the Oct. 15 to Dec. 7 window.
Does the Dec. 7 deadline come before the answer?
It can. Medicare.gov says people can join, drop or switch Medicare Advantage plans during open enrollment, which runs Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, and the plan must get the request by Dec. 7. New coverage starts Jan. 1. CMS confirmed the same dates in its 2027 Medicare Advantage announcement.
People already in a Medicare Advantage plan get a second chance from Jan. 1 to March 31, when they can switch to another Medicare Advantage plan or drop to Original Medicare. That window opens the day AdventHealth could go out of network, but it limits the choices to moves between Medicare Advantage plans or back to Original Medicare. A member who wants a plan AdventHealth stays in, with a new drug list and premium, has to weigh the choice before Dec. 7 without knowing how the talks end.
UnitedHealthcare frames the stakes in money. The insurer says AdventHealth would have cost about $72 million less in Medicare Advantage and Medicaid since 2024 at market-average rates, and that families and employers would pay over $350 million more at AdventHealth over five years if nothing changes. AdventHealth’s page gives no figure of its own.
The calendar adds pressure. AdventHealth’s mid-November response, if it comes then, would leave about three weeks before open enrollment closes. CMS expects about 34 million people, 47.4% of everyone on Medicare, to be in Medicare Advantage plans in 2027, so a single large system leaving one insurer’s network reaches a lot of households at once.
Is an AdventHealth doctor on your UnitedHealthcare Medicare card?
If no contract is signed by New Year’s Eve, an AdventHealth specialist or hospital a member relies on goes out of network the next morning, and open enrollment will already have closed on December 7. Waiting on the talks means choosing a January plan without an answer.
The Medicare Money Bundle holds 8 Medicare guides in one download, including Open Enrollment in an Afternoon, which runs Plan Finder in one sitting and ends on a keep-or-switch answer. Medigap vs. Medicare Advantage prices both paths.
Get the keep-or-switch guide for an AdventHealth network change, plus 7 more Medicare guides →
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
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.
