17,500 patients left to scramble after Boca Raton Regional Hospital drops UnitedHealthcare

Boca Raton Regional Hospital has ended its contract with UnitedHealthcare, leaving about 17,500 patients scrambling to find another health facility or go out of network.
Boca Regional, part of the Baptist Health system as of July 1, has been in negotiations with UnitedHealthcare, the nation’s largest health insurer, for the last month regarding a replacement agreement to its contract with the insurer, which expired June 30.Boca Regional now has a new CEO, Lincoln S. Mendez, after the retirement of Jerry Fedele and has been aggressively trying to strike a more lucrative deal. Mendez had been chief executive officer at South Miami Hospital, also part of Baptist Health. A spokesperson for Baptist Health said the negotiation between Boca Raton Regional and UnitedHealthcare occurred before the Boca hospital joined the Baptist Health system and now that they combined, Baptist will help in the negotiations.