![\"Charlotte](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/MIA_102UHealthdispute23NEWPPP.JPG\" "\\"Charlotte")
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Charlotte Libov, an award-winning health author who wrote a book titled \u201cCancer Survival Guide,\u201d is battling breast cancer and is at risk of losing access to her doctors at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center due to an ongoing contract dispute between the University of Miami Health System and UnitedHealthcare.<\/p>\n
Pedro Portal<\/p>\n
pportal@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
Charlotte Libov, a medical writer in Miami Beach, has always encouraged cancer patients to undergo treatment, if they can, at federally designated comprehensive cancer centers whose doctors are leaders in research and clinical trials and usually offer the latest treatments.<\/p>\n
Now, Libov, who is in the midst of her own breast cancer battle, might not be able to follow her own advice. An ongoing contract dispute<\/a> between the University of Miami Health System and UnitedHealthcare involving reimbursement rates could bar Libov and many other patients from accessing in-network care at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, South Florida\u2019s only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m feeling kind of trapped,\u201d said Libov, who has written about cancer for over 25 years. Libov, 76, hasn\u2019t slept well since finding out her doctors are at risk of leaving United\u2019s network. \u201cThis is kind of my worst nightmare.\u201d<\/p>\n UHealth is accusing UnitedHealthcare, the largest health insurer in the nation, of refusing to pay doctors enough for care. United is accusing the health system of wanting too much money.<\/p>\n How UHealth patients could be affected<\/p>\n If a deal is not made soon, UHealth doctors and facilities will go out-of-network<\/a> as early as Aug. 1 for thousands of people across South Florida who have a commercial, ACA Marketplace or Medicaid plan through United.<\/p>\n For people like Libov who have a Medicare Advantage plan through the United-owned Preferred Care Network, UHealth doctors and its facilities will go out-of-network as early as Sept. 1 if a deal isn\u2019t made. UHealth told the Herald it\u2019s \u201ctrying to negotiate\u201d with United to extend coverage until the end of the year for over 26,000 of its patients who are enrolled in a PCN Medicare Advantage plan.<\/p>\n If a deal isn\u2019t made by deadline day, the health system\u2019s wide range of primary and specialty care experts will no longer be in-network for United and Preferred Care Network members, including at Sylvester and Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, the top eye hospital in the country.<\/p>\n And because of the unique partnership UM\u2019s health system and medical school have with Miami-Dade\u2019s public health system, United and Preferred Care Network members may not be able to seek care with UHealth doctors who work on the campus of Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, including at the Miami Transplant Institute, Christine E. Lynn Rehabilitation Center and Holtz Children\u2019s Hospital.<\/p>\n \u201cThe vast majority of doctors who care for patients at Jackson Memorial Hospital are UHealth doctors. If UHealth is forced out of UnitedHealthcare\u2019s network, UnitedHealthcare members who see those doctors at Jackson may have to pay more or lose all access, depending on their health plan,\u201d UHealth said in an email to the Miami Herald last week. \u201cJackson Memorial Hospital cares for many of South Florida\u2019s most vulnerable communities. Losing access to UHealth doctors would mean many could have to travel farther, miss work, or pay more to see a doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n Jackson Health has its own contract with United, so its hospitals, ER and outpatient centers would still be in-network for United members, even if UHealth were to go out-of-network, the public health system told the Herald. That means United members would likely need to seek care with a Jackson doctor, not a UHealth doctor, to get in-network care if a deal isn\u2019t made.<\/p>\n \u201cWe understand that changes related to payer contracts can create uncertainty for patients, and Jackson Health System remains focused on supporting our patients and helping ensure they have access to the care they need,\u201d Jackson told the Herald in a Tuesday statement, noting the \u201cimportant role UHealth physicians play in caring for patients.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWith another week of active negotiations underway, we remain hopeful that UHealth and UnitedHealthcare will reach an agreement that serves the best interests of the South Florida community,\u201d Jackson said. The health system is encouraging patients to contact their doctors and insurer with any care coverage questions.<\/p>\n What wouldn\u2019t be affected if UHealth were to go out-of-network: the Jackson-UHealth urgent care centers across Miami-Dade County, which are staffed by Jackson Health doctors, according to UHealth. All UHealth services are also expected to remain in-network for UM students enrolled in the university\u2019s United Student Health Insurance Plan, according to The Miami Hurricane<\/a>, the private university\u2019s student newspaper.<\/p>\n \u201cOur goal is to renew our relationship and we remain engaged in good-faith discussions with UHealth,\u201d United recently told the Herald in an email.<\/p>\n The news that UM students will remain in-network gives Libov some hope that a deal will be made between UHealth and United. Still, she\u2019s worried. Libov said she\u2019s receiving treatment through a clinical trial at Sylvester, which means it\u2019s not a standard treatment she can get at other South Florida hospitals.<\/p>\n When she called United, Libov said she was reassured she would be able to continue getting treatment at Sylvester until January through \u201ccontinuity of care,\u201d a temporary permission health insurers can give certain patients, such as those undergoing active cancer treatment, to continue receiving in-network care for a certain period of time with an out-of-network provider. She\u2019s hoping to get that in writing and is already planning to research other Advantage plans to see which ones will cover her doctors at Sylvester and Mount Sinai Medical Center, the nearest hospital to home, in case she has to change insurances for 2027.<\/p>\n The stress, she said, is a tough reminder of the risks seniors face when they choose an Advantage plan, an option that has become increasingly popular through the years, over traditional Medicare in an industry that is \u201clike a moving target.\u201d<\/p>\n Medicare Advantage plans often provide members with additional benefits beyond medical care, including dental and vision, and usually have an annual cap on out-of-pocket expenses. But patients are required to get care with in-network doctors, a list that can change as providers are added and removed.<\/p>\n READ NEXT: Should you get original Medicare or an Advantage plan? Here\u2019s what to know<\/a><\/p>\n Hospitals and health insurers undergo negotiations all the time, and sometimes, an agreement is not reached until the final hour. Often, negotiations happen behind closed doors. Memorial Healthcare System, one of the public health systems in Broward County, for example, recently renewed<\/a> a new two-year agreement with CVS Health-owned Aetna, securing continuous in-network care for the insurer\u2019s members.<\/p>\n Other times, negotiations get complicated and spill out into the public, like the dispute between UHealth and United. Patients receive letters warning them that their in-network care could end soon. Webpages are created by both the health system and the insurer to answer common questions from patients, such as how to request an in-network extension for cancer treatment and other critical care \u2014 and, often, to point the finger at the other party as the reason a deal has not been made yet.<\/p>\n For 83-year-old patient Frank Sioli, the news that UHealth could suddenly go out-of-network was \u201cjust another roadblock to try to negotiate through the health insurance system.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe spend billions of dollars telling people \u2018no\u2019 when we could be using these dollars to cover benefits,\u201d said Sioli, who was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin\u2019s lymphoma in January.<\/p>\n Sioli was recently declared cancer-free, though he still needs to visit his doctors at UHealth for monitoring. He said United quickly approved his \u201ccontinuity of care\u201d request, which will cover his doctor visits through at least the end of 2026. If his doctor were to order more treatment, Sioli would need to make another \u201ccontinuity of care\u201d request with the health insurer.<\/p>\n Still, the South Miami-Dade resident and longtime Sylvester supporter has already made a gameplan ahead of January\u2019s open enrollment, when people already enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans can switch to other Advantage plans. He\u2019s made a list of the doctors and facilities he wants to keep in-network and plans to review other available Advantage plans to see which ones match his list, just in case UHealth does end up out-of-network.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to have a plan, or as Yogi [Berra] would say, if you don\u2019t know where you\u2019re going, you might not get there,\u201d said Sioli.<\/p>\n The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services requires Advantage plans to notify members<\/a> 45 days before a primary care doctor they recently visited leaves their plan and 30 days before a specialist drops out, according to KFF, a nonprofit that specializes in health policy analysis and other health information.<\/p>\n But hospitals and insurers often share news of ongoing, or stalled, negotiations as a pressure tactic, urging patients or members to call the other party and push to finalize a new contract.<\/p>\n The situation has frustrated Weston City Commissioner Byron L. Jaffe, who said he\u2019s contacted UHealth and has emailed the CEO of United\u2019s Florida division, urging the insurer not to kick UHealth\u2019s academic health system out-of-network. Jaffe, a retired American Airlines captain, is no longer insured with United but has heard from many worried residents, family and friends, including former American Airlines colleagues. United is the health insurer for American Airlines, the largest for-profit employer in Miami-Dade County.<\/p>\n \u201cThe last two times I\u2019ve been involved in this, one got settled, the other didn\u2019t,\u201d said Jaffe, referencing a similar dispute between Cleveland Clinic Weston and United that was eventually resolved a few years ago and the ongoing fallout<\/a> between Broward\u2019s public health systems and Florida Blue, the largest insurer in the state.<\/p>\n Just like UHealth with United, Broward Health and Memorial Healthcare System have accused Florida Blue of not paying it enough for care. Florida Blue, similar to United, argues that the hospitals want too much money. No deal has been made yet, leaving thousands of Florida Blue members unable to receive in-network care across Broward Health and Memorial, including at the Memorial Transplant Institute and at Joe DiMiaggio Children\u2019s Hospital, one of the top pediatric hospitals in the country.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not a betting man, but this means it\u2019s a 50-50 odd if it gets settled or not,\u201d said Jaffe, expressing his discontent with those odds as the deadline creeps closer. He said the Florida Blue fallout with Memorial and Broward Health, for example, has led to more patients, and longer wait times, in Cleveland Clinic\u2019s Weston ER.<\/p>\n Both UHealth and United say that their own negotiations are still ongoing. But the clock is ticking.<\/p>\n And for Florida seniors who may be thinking that the solution is to just switch in October during open enrollment to traditional Medicare, it might not be that easy, according to AARP. If you didn\u2019t buy a Medigap plan<\/a> when you initially enrolled in an Advantage plan, the moment you try to switch to original Medicare, \u201cinsurers can reject you because of preexisting conditions, charge you more and delay your coverage after you\u2019re accepted.\u201d<\/p>\n Michelle Marchante<\/a><\/p>\n Miami Herald<\/p>\n Michelle Marchante covers the pulse of healthcare in South Florida and also the City of Coral Gables. Before that, she covered the COVID-19 pandemic, hurricanes, crime, education, entertainment and other topics in South Florida for the Herald as a breaking news reporter. She recently won first place in the health reporting category in the 2025 Sunshine State Awards for her coverage of Steward Health\u2019s bankruptcy. An investigative series about the abrupt closure of a Miami heart transplant program led Michelle and her colleagues to be recognized as finalists in two 2024 Florida Sunshine State Award categories. She also won second place in the 73rd annual Green Eyeshade Awards for her consumer-focused healthcare stories and was part of the team of reporters who won a 2022 Pulitzer Prize for the Miami Herald\u2019s breaking news coverage of the Surfside building collapse. Michelle graduated with honors from Florida International University and was a 2025 National Press Foundation Covering Workplace Mental Health fellow and a 2020-2021 Poynter-Koch Media & Journalism fellow.\u00a0![\"Charlotte](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/MIA_103UHealthdispute23NEWPPP.JPG\" "\\"MIA_103UHealthdispute23NEWPPP.JPG\\"")
Charlotte Libov poses at a park in Miami Beach on Thursday, July 23, 2026. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com \u2018Just another roadblock,\u2019 cancer patient says<\/p>\n![\"Miami,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1785294791_534_MIA_UHEATHSOLEOPENING32.JPG\" "\\"MIA_UHEATHSOLEOPENING32.JPG\\"")
UHealth and UnitedHealthcare are negotiating a new contract. Alexia Fodere for Miami Herald <\/p>\n
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