A little-known escape hatch in Medicare’s rulebook is about to close for thousands of Rhode Island retirees. Beneficiaries who lost in-network access to Brown University Health hospitals after UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Advantage contract lapsed have until August 31 to change plans outside the normal enrollment calendar. The window was approved by federal officials precisely because these patients did not choose to lose their doctors, and once it shuts, the usual once-a-year rules snap back into place.
The Special Election Period Closing August 31
Medicare Advantage members are normally locked into their plans until the fall open-enrollment season, but federal regulators can grant exceptions when a major provider leaves a plan’s network. In this case, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services authorized a two-month special election period for people affected by Brown University Health’s decision not to renew its contract with UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Advantage plans.
State officials have laid out who qualifies and how the window works. According to the Rhode Island Governor’s office, the period runs from the date an affected member receives notice through August 31, 2026, and lets them move into a different Medicare Advantage plan, buy a Medigap policy, or return to Traditional Medicare. Eligibility reaches beneficiaries who are assigned to, currently treated by, or have been treated within the past three months by a Brown University Health provider.
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How Brown University Health Patients Ended Up Out of Network
The dispute reclassified several of the state’s largest hospitals as out-of-network for UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage members, effective July 1, 2026. The Rhode Island Attorney General’s office has documented that Rhode Island Hospital, The Miriam Hospital, Newport Hospital, and Hasbro Children’s Hospital are among the facilities affected by the contract’s end, leaving patients who relied on those hospitals to either switch coverage or absorb out-of-network costs.
The stakes are concrete. A Medicare Advantage plan generally pays far less, or nothing, when a member uses a hospital outside its network, which can turn a routine admission into a large surprise bill. For an older patient in the middle of treatment, the choice is between finding a new plan that keeps those hospitals in-network and staying put while paying dramatically more for the same care.
The Three Options Inside the Window
The special election period opens three distinct paths, and they are not interchangeable. Switching to a different Medicare Advantage plan can restore in-network access to the affected hospitals, but only if that plan actually contracts with them, so verifying the provider list before enrolling matters. Returning to Traditional Medicare removes network restrictions entirely, since Original Medicare is accepted by nearly every hospital, though it leaves gaps that a supplement is designed to fill.
That third path, buying a Medigap policy, carries a timing advantage worth understanding. Outside protected windows, insurers can use medical underwriting to raise premiums or deny a supplement based on health history, but qualifying life events like this one can open a guaranteed-issue right. The broader mechanics of these exceptions are spelled out on Medicare’s guide to special enrollment periods, which explains how a network loss can trigger rights that the standard calendar does not offer.
What Happens After the Deadline Passes
Once August 31 arrives, the exception disappears and the ordinary rules return. A beneficiary who misses the window would generally have to wait for the annual open-enrollment period each fall, or the Medicare Advantage open-enrollment window early in the year, to make a change, and any guaranteed-issue Medigap right tied to this event would likely be gone. That delay can mean months of paying out-of-network rates or driving to a different hospital system for care.
Affected members are directed to watch for a letter from UnitedHealthcare describing the special election period and can call 1-800-Medicare to act on it. With the deadline days away and the underlying contract still unresolved, the state’s guidance is the same one it issued when the window opened: the calendar, not the coverage dispute, is what runs out on August 31.
This article was researched and drafted with the assistance of AI and reviewed by The Financial Wire editorial team.
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Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
