Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - New York State Sen. Patrick Gallivan is urging Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and Independent Health to resolve their dispute over reimbursement rates for Medicare Advantage patients before the current agreement expires.
Unless a new deal is reached, Roswell Park will stop accepting Independent Health’s Medicare Advantage clients as in-network patients effective Jan. 1.
Gallivan is calling on Roswell Park President and CEO Dr. Candace Johnson and Independent Health President and CEO Dr. Michael Cropp to meet and work out a resolution.
“The whole issue is very troubling to me,” Gallivan said. “I can’t understand why things are at a standstill.” He said he plans to press both parties in the coming days.
Reimbursement disputes like this one are not unique. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, more than 150 similar cases are pending across the country.
Gallivan noted that he has helped secure more than $500 million in state grants and funding for Roswell Park in recent years, much of it through his role as ranking member of the Senate Standing Committee on Health.
Independent Health, one of the region’s largest insurers, covers more than 350,000 members. About 50,000 are enrolled in its Medicare Advantage program, and roughly 1,000 of those patients received care at Roswell Park in the past year.
In a statement to WBEN, Roswell Park said it wants to find a solution but claimed Independent Health declined to negotiate.
“This is about Independent Health trying to solve its financial troubles by deliberately designing their Medicare Advantage products to discourage vulnerable, at-risk seniors or persons with disabilities from enrolling in their plans,” Roswell Park said. “If you are sick, they don’t want you, and they can’t afford to keep you.”
Independent Health spokesperson Frank Sava said the insurer values its relationship with Roswell Park and remains open to an agreement.
“We had been working with Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center on a new agreement effective January 1, 2026, for our individual Medicare Advantage plans,” Sava said. “Despite our willingness to have Roswell Park and its providers in our network, the hospital rejected the structure of our offer. Our offer to have Roswell Park as an in-network provider still stands in the hopes it reconsiders its decision. We appreciate Senator Gallivan’s advocacy and his work to strengthen the state’s healthcare system.”