A financial dispute between a prestigious Manhattan specialty hospital and a major health insurance company has left many cancer patients scared to death after being told they could lose their health insurance, The Post has learned.
Patients, including some with severe stage 4 cancer, received letters last month from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center claiming that their insurance company, Cigna, would soon discontinue in-network coverage.
Sloan Kettering urged patients to call Cigna to pressure their insurance companies to maintain coverage as the two sides negotiate payment terms for cancer treatment services.
“Cigna Healthcare is pleased to announce that we do not plan to renew our agreement with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) as an in-network insurance provider in 2024. This may impact your ability to receive care at MSK in the future. ” MSK CEO Lisa De Angelis said in a Dec. 1 letter to patients enrolled in Cigna.
“We have worked hard to reach a fair agreement with Cigna. MSK has faced significant cost increases in recent years, but Cigna has been unwilling to cover these costs. As a result, we were unable to reach an agreement to provide patients with the best cancer care at the lowest cost.”
“We recommend that you call Cigna's phone number on the back of your insurance card and let them know that you would like to continue accessing MSK,” the letter continued.
One breast cancer survivor said she was shocked and sickened after reading the letter from Sloan Kettering.
“My heart has stopped. It's a scary situation to have this burden placed on me,” Leslie said. Leslie underwent surgery and chemotherapy for breast cancer two years ago and continues to see doctors at Sloan Kettering.
“This is my health care,” she said.
A friend of another patient currently undergoing treatment for stage 4 cancer said, “This is not about people being treated for a broken arm. This is a vulnerable population.”
Leslie, who asked that her full name not be published, said she felt she and other patients were being treated like pawns.
But Sloan Kettering's pressure, or intimidation tactic, to infuriate patients to contact Cigna appears to be working.
Leslie blames Cigna, stating that at least Sloan Kettering informed her about the conflict, but Cigna did not know.
“Sloan Kettering saved my life. I'm not going to look at them as the bad guys in this situation. Cigna is the bad guy here,” said Leslie, 33, a mother of two. .
“Cigna takes care out of medicine,” she said.
“Unfortunately, these types of letters are all too common,” said Rep. Amy Paulin (D-Scarsdale), chair of the Assembly Health Committee.
“Patients are caught in the middle. Both sides have to acknowledge that this is terrible for patients. We have a duty to do something to make sure patients are not used as pawns,” the state lawmaker said.
Paulin said that in most cases, hospitals and health insurance companies come to an agreement on pricing for medical care, but that's not always the case.
“If Cigna were to withdraw coverage from Sloan Kettering, that would be a problem for patients,” Poulin said. “At what point is it fair to tell the patient?”
Both Sloan Kettering and Cigna declined to say how many patients would be affected if the terms of the new agreement were not reached.
He said he has extended his current contract by one month until February 15 and is preparing a new contract.
“Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) has entered into a tentative agreement with Cigna that allows MSK to remain in-network. “We have extended the end date to February 15, 2024,” MSK spokesperson John Connolly said.
“We worked together to finalize the new agreement and mutually agreed to extend the current agreement through February 15,” Cigna spokeswoman Madeline Ziomek said in a statement.
In a letter to patients, MSK Director De Angelis said patients receiving active treatment at the world-renowned cancer center will continue to be covered by in-network insurance until at least April 14, 2024. It stated that bone marrow transplants will be covered for one year after treatment. .
