ALBANY – State Senator Peter Harckham and State Assemblyman Matt Slater have called on the State Health Department to respond to Optum Health Care’s decision dropping coverage for several low-cost health plans while shuttering local medical facilities.
The two lawmakers noted by eliminating multiple plans including Individual Exchange options such as Fidelis / WellCare and Cigna / HealthSpring, many low-income residents, Medicare Advantage enrollees and Medicaid patients will be impacted.
The lawmakers also warned that closing Optum’s multi-specialty medical office in Somers will force patients, many of them older adults or individuals with complex medical needs, to travel farther for care.
On Tuesday the two men who represent constituents in Putnam and northern Westchester charged such action would disrupt a “continuity of care and contradict the convenience and accessibility Optum pledged when it first acquired these practices.”
Slater called Optum’s decision “absurd. Shuttering sites and dropping coverage does nothing to make local healthcare more affordable or accessible. In fact, it does the opposite. Real people’s lives are being affected by these decisions, and we’re doing everything we can to protect patients from the lack of transparency and ensure continuity of care.”
Harckham, a Democrat, agreed with his Republican colleague. “Forcing people to travel farther and pay more for essential care, especially as the cost of living continues to soar, is unacceptable. We should be working together to protect patients and ensure they receive the care they need, not creating barriers to care.”
The lawmakers called on the state to take three specific actions: Conduct a review to determine whether excluding competing exchange plans presents a conflict of interest for Optum and UHG; adopt regulations requiring advance notice to patients, lawmakers, local governments and the public—along with opportunities for community input—before major clinic closures occur; and assess the impact of Optum’s network reductions and facility closures on healthcare access and affordability in the Hudson Valley.
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