Have UnitedHealthcare members in The Villages’ Health System been deceived?
The Villages Health patients received a letter dated Nov. 7, from Bob Trinh the CEO of The Villages Health stating that CenterWell Senior Primary Care had completed the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of The Villages Health (TVH). Included in this letter was the unfortunate news that UnitedHealthcare (UHC) members will have their plan accepted only through Dec. 31, 2025. The letter further explained that CenterWell is having ongoing discussions with UHC for a potential agreement for 2026 and beyond and if no agreement is reached, CenterWell will be unable to accept UHC plans starting Jan. 1, 2026.
The sale of assets of TVH included eight primary care centers and two specialty care centers serving over 55,000 patients in The Villages. A significant number of those patients are UnitedHealthcare members.
Mr. Trinh, CEO for The Villages Health has stated numerous times in previous communications to TVH patients and the community at large that the sale to CenterWell will result in “continued access to your current health insurance provider” and patients should expect that “patient care to remain the same” and that members will not notice any changes to their services. Sanjy Shetty, MD President of CenterWell continued to ensure that the transition between TVH and CenterWell would be a seamless transition. Mr. Trinh also echoed this by continuing to state in his communication that all patients of The Villages Health can “expect a seamless transition for our patients.”
As a former Health Care Executive, the definition of a “seamless transition” has not changed. It means to have a transition that is uninterrupted without any noticeable changes or difficulties. A seamless transition in a healthcare acquisition, such as in this situation, should mean that the transition is going from one entity to another without patients noticing ANY changes.
Every high level health care executive should have integrity to always lead with honesty and truthfullness. It appears that this may not have been the case with Mr. Trihn from The Villages Health or Sanjy Shetty from Centerwell.
Currently, all UnitedHealth members in The Villages Health are now in an unexpected, highly stressful situation. Many of these members are elderly and vulnerable. They now face the daunting task of possibly needing to switch insurance companies to keep their providers as “in-network” or find providers outside of The Villages Health eight primary care centers and two specialty care centers if they wish to stay with UnitedHealthcare. Open enrollment for dropping or switching to another Medicare Advantage Plan started on October 15th and will end on Dec. 7.
Time is running out. The health and wellbeing of all UnitedHealthcare members within The Villages Health is at risk. There needs to be an agreement made in good faith quickly between CenterWell and UnitedHealthcare.
Failure for an agreement between UnitedHealthcare and CenterWell will be nothing short of appalling! If that is the final outcome, all UnitedHealthcare members within The Villages Health will find that they had been fooled and deceived.
Carol Ann Wolf of the Village of Hemingway is a former health care executive.
Related
Comments have been temporarily disabled