In late June 2025, a rumor circulated that U.S. health insurance company UnitedHealthcare (UHC) had stopped covering treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the world-renowned cancer care hospital in New York City.
For example, a post on X from someone who claimed to be a patient at Memorial Sloan Kettering and to have UnitedHealthcare insurance expressed dismay at the alleged change in coverage, accusing UnitedHealthcare of "disrupting cancer treatment" for 20,000 people (archived):
The post had gained 1.1 million views and more than 25,000 likes as of this writing. Other posts relaying the claims appeared on X and on Facebook, including a meme using the text of the above X post. Further, several Snopes readers searched the site seeking to confirm that UHC was effectively ending cancer care at Memorial Sloan Kettering.
The rumor spread after months of critical coverage of the insurance company's profit-driving tactics, which followed the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City in December 2024. Thompson's death unleashed a flurry of stories about inadequate health care coverage and unexplained claim denials from the insurer. Many began to view Thompson's alleged killer, Luigi Mangione, as a contemporary folk hero. Snopes has investigated several rumors about Mangione and UnitedHealthcare.
It is true that the hospital and health insurance company appeared to have reached an impasse in negotiations in June 2025 after UnitedHealthcare accused Memorial Sloan Kettering of attempting to raise the prices it charges UnitedHealthcare by 30% to 36%. In response, Memorial Sloan Kettering said UnitedHealthcare had been under-reimbursing care. "Since 2020, UHC's rate increases to MSK have been less than one-third of the actual cost increases MSK has experienced," a spokesperson for Memorial Sloan Kettering said in an email.
News releases from the two organizations dated June 25 and June 26, 2025, said that if they did not find an agreement, UnitedHealthcare would stop covering treatment for UnitedHealthcare-insured patients at Memorial Sloan Kettering starting July 1, 2025.
Both companies asserted they were negotiating in good faith, though the two published competing claims. For example, UnitedHealthcare said the care Memorial Sloan Kettering provided was more expensive than that of comparable hospitals and health care providers in New York City. Memorial Sloan Kettering replied that its innovative care meant patients needed to visit less frequently — and, therefore, their care was effectively cheaper than at comparable hospitals.
A Memorial Sloan Kettering spokesperson said in an email that the number of patients affected across its system was closer to 19,000. When asked if the hospital was hopeful about reaching an agreement with UnitedHealthcare, Memorial Sloan Kettering shared the following statement from Chief Medical Officer Cardinale Smith:
For people with cancer, there's nothing more important than being able to see their doctor without interruption. UnitedHealthcare (UHC) is putting the care of 19,000 patients with cancer at risk by refusing to agree to a sustainable agreement with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK). We deliver care that helps patients live longer, at lower overall costs, but MSK remains significantly underpaid by UHC – a pattern we've seen from UHC in their negotiations with other health systems across the country. We're doing everything we can to protect our patients, and we urge UHC to prioritize the lives of cancer patients.
In a statement sent by email, UnitedHealthcare said that they had made a new proposal with a rate increase on June 23, 2025, but that Memorial Sloan Kettering had not budged. It added that if they agreed to Memorial Sloan Kettering's demands, outpatient services would cost almost 50% more by July 1, 2027.
Also over email, UnitedHealthcare CEO Junior Harewood said the company had offered to increase rates and urged Memorial Sloan Kettering to meet them at a lower rate point:
Our top priority is to reach an agreement with MSK that is affordable for consumers and employers. We have proposed substantial rate increases that would continue to reimburse MSK at levels significantly higher than other National Cancer Institute-designated health systems in the New York City metro area. Unfortunately, MSK is demanding an approximate 30% price hike on average for its hospitals and physicians, including a 36% rate increase at MSKCC. MSK's proposal would increase health care costs by more than $400 million and directly impact self-insured employers. We will remain at the negotiating table as long as it takes to renew our relationship with MSK. We ask MSK to join us there and provide a proposal people and employers can afford.
A UnitedHealthcare spokesperson said over email that the company was waiting for a counterproposal from Memorial Sloan Kettering at the time of this writing.