Healthcare giants University of Miami Health System and UnitedHealthcare reached an agreement on July 31, 2026, to continue their partnership after 14 months of negotiations.
“We are happy to share that UHealth and UnitedHealthcare have reached an agreement. UHealth doctors and hospitals will stay in your network,” UHealth wrote in an email on July 31. “This means your care can continue, and you can keep using your United benefits. You no longer need Continuity of Care forms.”
Still, the parties were unable to reach an agreement for patients using Medicare Advantage Preferred Care Network, who will become out of network under the new agreement.
UHealth and UHC released matching announcements earlier in the week, marking the end of negotiations. Both companies thanked their patients for their patience.
“You are at the heart of all we do,” UHealth’s email continued. “We are glad to keep caring for you and your family.”
Several plans will keep in-network privileges with UHealth:
- Employer-sponsored commercial plans
- Individual Family Plans
- Medicare Supplement — which covers the leftover out-of-pockets costs from Medicare plans and the two Medicaid plans making up the UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Florida
- Medicaid Managed Medical Assistance — for families and adults who meet income requirements
- Long-Term Care — for elders at risk of being placed in nursing homes
Members of UHC’s Preferred Care Network Medicare Advantage plans — a Health Maintenance Organization plan with coverage for prescription drugs in Miami-Dade and Broward — are not so lucky.
Members left out-of-network will have to pay out of pocket for all of UHealth’s services, including physicians. Self-pay costs vary depending on the treatment, but for patients undergoing cancer treatment at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center — one of the most prominent institutions within UHealth — the costs could exceed $150,000.
UHealth services will also only remain in-network for Preferred Care Network patients until Dec. 31, 2026. Prior to renegotiations, UHealth would have been out of network for these patients by Sept. 1, 2026.
According to UHealth, this contract was a unilateral decision.
“UnitedHealthcare has notified UHealth that it intends to terminate its Preferred Care Network contract,” UHealth announced on its website.
UHC confirmed there are no ongoing negotiations to reinstate UHealth for PCN plans.
“We don’t know why PCN wanted to cancel us,” said Joanna Palmer, the executive director of media relations and medical communications for UHealth. “That’s a question for the insurance provider as to their ‘why.’”
UHC has not yet responded to The Hurricane’s inquiries.
For patients with a PCN plan facing termination, UHealth still encourages them to keep scheduling appointments with their current care team.
“Keep your upcoming appointments and continue to schedule new ones,” UHealth said on their website.
Once these PCN patients become out-of-network, they will only be able to continue their treatment at UHealth with Continuity of Care forms — exceptions that can be granted to patients who are pregnant or have an ongoing treatment for a serious illness. These forms only cover treatment for 30 days, afterward patients would have to switch providers or pay out-of-pocket.
Applications for Continuity of Care can be submitted up to 30 days after UHealth leaves the network.
UHC does not disclose how long these applications take to be processed and did not answer questions relating to the topic.
The Hurricane also reached out to UHealth to understand how it will handle cases that are still being processed after Dec. 31, but did not receive a response.
For UHC members who would need to request Continuity of Care, it is unclear what the next steps should be.
UHealth urged PCN members to consider their future lack of in-network access during open enrollment — a period from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7 where people can change, sign-up or drop insurance plans — and offered alternative providers.
On their website, UHC echoed the benefit of switching providers.
“Current UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage members who switch to a new plan for 2027 that has UHealth in its network will have no gap in network access to the health system,” UHC posted.
For patients who decide to keep their current PNC plan, UHC’s website lists several South Florida health systems that will still be in-network, such as Mount Sinai Medical Center and Memorial Healthcare System.