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The Villages deal reached between United and Centerwell
After a deal was reached between United Healthcare and Centerwell, The Villages residents will be able to keep their insurance and doctors. Now, United policy holders will be covered at all Centerwell Medical Centers.
THE VILLAGES, Fla. - Residents living at The Villages will be able to keep their health insurance after a deal between United Heathcare and CenterWell Senior Primary Care was reached.
What we know:
When Villages Healthcare went bankrupt and was purchased by CenterWell– which served 55,000 people – it seemed residents might need to find new doctors or look for new health insurance, FOX 35 reported last month. For weeks, Villagers were left in limbo, unsure whether their doctors would still take their insurance come New Year’s Day.
Some went ahead and changed their providers, as nerves kicked in while the open enrollment deadline approached. With a population of aging residents, healthcare access is especially important in the villages.
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However, on Nov. 25, CenterWell Senior Primary Care, who bought out The Villages Healthcare, reached an agreement with United Healthcare – meaning United will remain in network for residents.
Who is CenterWell?
CenterWell, owned by Humana, is the nation’s largest senior-focused, value-based primary care provider, serving approximately 450,000 patients at 350 locations across 15 states, with 150 centers in Florida, its website said.
CenterWell acquired all of The Villages Heath's assets.
What they're saying:
Carol Wolf reached out to FOX 35 News about the issue in November. She used to work in healthcare herself, and was terrified for the potential impact of United Healthcare no longer being accepted. She says she’s enormously relieved a deal has been reached.
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"We're very grateful for that. And grateful to you, your newscast, which really took the lead in doing that story," she told FOX 35 News Reporter Marie Edinger. "You guys were really the forefront of bringing this whole situation, which was really a tragedy and a terrible situation to the viewers. And I really feel like that had an impact."
"There were several other news media entities that ran different stories, but you were the first one, so thank you so much," she added.
What's next:
CenterWell said it plans to expand Medicare Advantage health plan choices. In 2026, The Villages Health will accept health plans from Aetna, CarePlus, Florida Blue, Humana and UnitedHealthcare.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from a press release from CenterWell and reporting from FOX 35's Marie Edinger.