Thousands of New Jersey patients may need to reconsider their health care options in light of a major insurance coverage shake-up.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey recently announced that two hospitals part of the St. Joseph’s Health system are set to leave the network.

Effective March 1, 2026, St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson and St. Joseph’s Wayne Medical Center in Wayne will no longer be part of the Horizon Hospital Network, according to Horizon’s Nov. 20 press release.

“Horizon has been working to reach an agreement with St. Joseph’s Health (St. Joseph’s) hospitals to stay in the Horizon Hospital Network. Unfortunately, we have not reached an agreement,” the press release states.

Issues with insurance reimbursement appear to be the key sticking point in negotiations, according to a Q&A page about the decision on St. Joseph’s website.

“Unfortunately, Horizon’s current reimbursements to St. Joseph’s Health have not kept up with inflation and are overwhelmingly inadequate to account for the cost of providing safe and quality care,” the page states.

Although St. Joseph’s Health has notified Horizon that they intend to leave the network, Horizon Spokesman Thomas Wilson said the two parties “have a long and positive relationship” and “are still working together to reach an agreement.”

However, if they can’t reach an agreement, then St. Joseph’s Health will be out of network with Horizon starting March 1, 2026. The decision impacts both doctors’ offices and hospitals.

The move could affect nearly 100,000 patients that have used St. Joseph’s facilities or received services from St. Joseph’s Health Medical Group providers over the past 18 months.

St. Joseph’s Health is advising patients to explore their insurance options to ensure that they can continue to see trusted providers and avoid any disruption in care. It remains in network with the following commercial insurance companies:

United HealthcareAetnaAmeriHealthFidelis CareClover HealthWellPoint

St. Joseph’s Health is comprised of: St. Joseph’s University Medical Center/St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital; St. Joseph’s Wayne Medical Center, an acute care community hospital in Wayne; St. Joseph’s Healthcare and Rehab Center, a long-term residential facility in Cedar Grove; Visiting Health Services of New Jersey, based in Totowa; and outpatient facilities located across northern New Jersey.