UnitedHealthcare says Providence’s hospitals and providers in Oregon and Washington will no longer be in its network on Jan. 1, 2027, for people on its individual Medicare Advantage plans, group retiree plans and chronic condition special needs plans. In Ohio, Genesis HealthCare System in Zanesville sent termination notices to four insurers this fall, then said on Oct. 29 that it will stay in network with three of them in 2027. The fourth, Medical Mutual of Ohio’s Medicare Advantage plan, is out.
For anyone on one of these plans, the question is whether the hospital they use is on the list, and whether they can still switch before Medicare’s Dec. 7 deadline. Medicare.gov says the Open Enrollment Period runs Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, that people can switch Medicare Advantage plans or move to Original Medicare in that window, and that the plan has to receive the request by Dec. 7 for coverage to change on Jan. 1.
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Which UnitedHealthcare plans lose Providence?
UnitedHealthcare’s page on the dispute, updated Oct. 5, lists three kinds of plans losing Providence on Jan. 1: individual Medicare Advantage plans, group retiree plans and chronic special needs plans, known as C-SNPs. The page applies the change to Oregon and Washington together. Employer-sponsored commercial plans and Medicare Supplement plans are not affected.
One group is still in talks. UnitedHealthcare says it is in “good-faith negotiation” with Providence to renew dual special needs plans in Washington, which serve people who have both Medicare and Medicaid. The page names no outcome for those plans yet.
The hospitals include Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Oregon and Providence Regional Medical Center Everett and Swedish Medical Center in Washington. UnitedHealthcare points members to other in-network systems, among them Oregon Health & Science University and Adventist Health Portland in Oregon and UW Medicine and MultiCare Health System in Washington.
UnitedHealthcare says it aims to reach an agreement before Jan. 1 on the Washington dual special needs plans. The page offers no such language for the other plans, and members of those plans should plan on the hospitals being out of network from Jan. 1.
What if treatment is already under way?
People in active treatment for a serious or complex condition with a Providence provider may be able to keep receiving care at in-network costs for a period of time, UnitedHealthcare says. Its examples are active cancer treatment and ongoing transplant services. Members apply by calling the number on their plan ID card.
Emergencies are covered differently. UnitedHealthcare says members can go to the nearest hospital and receive in-network coverage even if it is not in the network.
The Oregon side has a second wrinkle. Willamette Week reported on Oct. 22 that, with UnitedHealthcare ending its Oregon Medicare Advantage contract with Providence, an unnamed Providence spokesperson said its agreement with Devoted Health “gives Medicare Advantage beneficiaries in the Portland metro area an option to stay connected.” The paper also cited an Oregonian count of more than 162,000 Oregonians in Medicare Advantage plans being discontinued or no longer offered in their county in 2027.
What happened with Genesis in Ohio?
Genesis is the hospital system in Zanesville, and Live Insurance News reported on Oct. 13 that it had sent termination notices to Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Medical Mutual and CareSource. The contracts were due to end Dec. 31, 2026, if no agreement was reached. Matthew Perry, Genesis’s president and chief executive, was quoted as saying, “This was not our first choice. It was our last resort.”
Genesis’s own update, dated Oct. 29, says Aetna Medicare Advantage and UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage “will remain in-network for 2027.” It also says Genesis reached an agreement with CareSource’s Next Generation MyCare Ohio plan and CareSource Medicaid to stay in network.
That leaves Medical Mutual of Ohio Medicare Advantage as “out-of-network starting January 1, 2027,” the update says. Coverage stays the same through Dec. 31, 2026, and Genesis says Medigap plans are not affected.
Live Insurance News described Genesis as the only hospital in a six-county rural area, which is why a network break there falls hard on people on Medical Mutual’s plan. Genesis’s update says it will share news as it happens and offers to help patients appeal wrongful insurance denials at no charge.
What can still be changed before Dec. 7?
The Providence exit and the Genesis exit both land on the same January date, and both fall inside the window when plans can be changed. A person on an affected plan can compare other Medicare Advantage plans and Original Medicare at Medicare.gov, or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), which the agency lists for enrolling by phone.
The check is narrow. It is whether the specific hospital and doctors someone uses are in the network of the plan they would move to, and what the new plan charges. UnitedHealthcare’s own page says members can call the customer care number on their ID card or visit myuhc.com or myuhcmedicare.com, and group retiree members can use retiree.uhc.com.
People who leave Medicare Advantage for Original Medicare may also need to think about a Medigap policy. That is a separate decision with its own rules.
Is your hospital on the Providence or Genesis list?
A plan that loses the hospital a person uses leaves them choosing between out-of-network bills and a switch that must reach the plan by Dec. 7. After that date, the Jan. 1 network change takes hold with the old plan still in place.
The Medicare Money Bundle includes Open Enrollment in an Afternoon, which walks through Plan Finder in one sitting and ends in a keep-or-switch answer, and Medigap vs. Medicare Advantage, which covers Medigap rights, state rules and both paths priced. It comes as eight guides and 102 pages, with large print.
Get the Plan Finder walkthrough and keep-or-switch guide for the Jan. 1 hospital exits →
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.
