FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK) — 50,000 Lee Health patients are on alert as the hospital system ends its contract with United Healthcare at the end of the year.
WINK Investigates is hosting a special event to help answer pressing questions from the community. The event, called “Coverage in Question,” will take place on Monday, Oct. 12.
During the special live segment, WINK News will host a Medicare Help Center from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Trained counselors with SHINE — Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders — will be answering calls.
The Medicare Help Center will provide free, unbiased answers from experts just before open enrollment begins for Medicare on Oct. 15.
Lee Health patients are not the only ones who need answers. Naples Comprehensive Health will also stop accepting Cigna and WellCare Medicare Advantage plans on Jan. 1.
RELATED: Lee Health ending contracts with UnitedHealthcare starting in 2027
Thousands of residents will be out-of-network come the new year.
Southwest Florida is not alone in this ongoing dispute.
Through investigations, WINK News discovered there are nearly three dozen metro areas across the country that are seeing similar disputes between a major healthcare provider and a leading insurance carrier.