Special Election Open for RI Medicare Advantage Members Impacted by Brown University Health Action

Governor Dan McKee and the Office of Healthy Aging announced that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have approved a two-month, special election period for Rhode Island Medicare Advantage subscribers whose insurance coverage was impacted when Brown University Health terminated its contract with UnitedHealthcare. The State has been advocating for this special election period, which will allow eligible beneficiaries to change their insurance carriers if they wish without waiting for the regular open enrollment period later this year.

“This is important news for seniors in Rhode Island whose coverage was disrupted earlier this month,” said Governor McKee. “Without this special election period, every impacted individual had to submit an individual waiver request to change carriers—with no guarantee that they would be granted. Our team at the Office of Healthy Aging stands ready to assist impacted Rhode Islanders.”

After lengthy negotiations, Brown University Health chose not to renew its contract with the UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans, effective July 1 of this year. In most cases, this means that UnitedHealthcare now classified most Rhode Island-based hospitals run by Brown University Health—Rhode Island Hospital, the Miriam Hospital, Newport Hospital and Hasbro Children’s Hospital—as out of network providers.

According to CMS, affected members are those enrolled in UnitedHealthcare plans who are assigned to, are currently receiving care from, or have received care within the past three months from a provider or facility being terminated from the Medicare Advantage provider network.

The 60-day special election period begins once impacted subscribers receive mailed notifications from UnitedHealthcare. Eligible individuals can learn about their options by contacting the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) hotline at 1-888-884-8721.

“Our SHIP counselors are trained, unbiased, and ready to walk beneficiaries through their plan choices so they can make the best decision based on their personal medical needs, preferred providers, and financial situation, said Maria Cimini, Director of the Office of Healthy Aging. “No one needs to navigate this change alone. We’re here to help.”

Any Medicare beneficiary not covered by the special election period will have the option of engaging with regular open enrollment between October 15 and December 7. Plans chosen during regular open enrollment will not go into effect until January 1, 2026.