HIGH POINT, N.C. (WGHP) — Thousands of people found themselves in the middle of an insurance negotiation. A woman from High Point is one of them.

“As a stage four cancer patient, that means I lose my entire team that started with me, that have extended my life,” said Janet Mazzurco, a cancer patient at UNC Health.

UnitedHealthcare and UNC Health are at odds, and time to agree is running out. Mazzurco and thousands of other patients will lose coverage at UNC on April 1 if there is not an agreement.

“I work very hard at being well,” Mazzurco said.

She has received a lot of difficult news since she was diagnosed with stage four metastatic melanoma 10 years ago, but the letter she got this month was devastating.

“‘Dear Janet, we are writing to let you know about an important update to your plan providers. Our current contract with UNC Health System is ending,’” she said as she read the letter.

She needs to decide by March 15 if she will continue to be a patient there with new insurance or pay out of pocket.

“They are my family, and I cannot imagine what it is going to be like losing them,” she said.

Or she can make the most difficult decision of all: Go somewhere else for treatment.

“That is just devastating. I cannot tell you the stress that it causes, I’m having night terrors. I am seeking psychological treatment for that,” Mazzurco said.

She spent countless hours researching new providers and adding up the costs, the resources available and everything else that would change.

“I would rather be out doing some things on my bucket list, enjoying my life or exercising to keep me as well as I can be at this time, but I’m not. I am sitting in front of a computer doing spreadsheets,” Mazzurco said.

She first heard about the negotiations in the fall but assumed there would be an agreement by the April 1 deadline.

“I was optimistic in December and January. I am starting to lose hope now. I always say, ‘I don’t want to lose hope’ but now that we are at Feb. 21, I am starting to lose hope,” Mazzurco said.

These negotiations are common, but it’s less likely that one lingers this close to the deadline.

A statement from the UNC Health System it says in part: “While we continue in good faith to try to negotiate a new and fair agreement with UnitedHealthcare, we remain far apart.” 

And a statement from UnitedHealthcare reads in part: “We are actively exchanging proposals with UNC Health and have made significant movement along with proposing meaningful rate increases that ensure the health system continues to be reimbursed at market-competitive rates.”

UnitedHealthcare will remain in-network at UNC Health southeastern, UNC Health Appalachian, UNC Health Blue Ridge and Prime Surgical Suites, and coverage will continue for UnitedHealthcare’s North Carolina Medicaid plans no matter the outcome.

According to a UnitedHealthcare spokesperson, Mazzurco and patients in a similar situation might still be covered out of network if an agreement is not reached. According to the company:

UnitedHealthcare members who are in the middle of treatment at a UNC Health hospital or with a UNC physician may qualify for continuity of care should UNC Health leave our network. Continuity of care provides continued in-network benefits for a specified period of time after a provider leaves our network. A few examples of patients who may qualify include but are not limited to:

  • Women who are pregnant
  • Patients with newly diagnosed or relapsed cancer or those currently in active cancer treatment
  • UnitedHealthcare members who have questions about continuity of care and whether they may be eligible should call the number on their health plan ID card