Thanks to all who have already completed the survey above! Below are some of the impacts we've begun to identify. Union organizers, media contacts & allies: feel free to use the anonymized stories below and contact [email protected] for any further corroboration or information if needed. 

Major Complications for Upcoming Kidney Transplant
One union member reports a severe threat to their upcoming kidney transplant. After many hours and days of research and phone calls, it appears there are no acceptable options for this person. Quoting them from our survey results:

"I have approximately six doctors with the NY Presbyterian family (Weill Cornell). I am now in the process of completing all diagnostic tests for a kidney transplant in September. If AETNA drops the NY Presbyterian network, I will have to rebuild my team and find a new transplant center. Starting the process over will cause months in delay which could lead to dialysis; a catastrophic option for me and my family."

Family Planning Interruptions
From another member: "My wife and I are planning to have a second child this year. We had our first at Weill Cornell. We will have to rebuild our relationships with our OBGYN and won't know where to start." If NYP falls out of the Aetna network, this family will need to scramble to rebuild those relationships ahead of an upcoming birth. Or incur the high costs of staying with their preferred team, but out-of-network. Another unacceptable choice. 

Interrupted Access to Inner Ear Specialist
One member has shared their concerns about a potential interruption to care they've been receiving for many years from an otolaryngologist at Columbia Presbyterian. This employee has Meniere's Disease which requires responsiveness from a familiar medical team when symptoms such as hearing loss, imbalance and vertigo appear unexpectedly. ​

Primary Care Physician (PCP) part of NY Presbyterian
We've had multiple Aetna-insured members report that their PCPs are within the NYP system and that they are worried about complications or delays related to their health coverage due to the potential cancellation of Aetna coverage of NYP services. 

Some expect they will keep their doctor and just hope they don't have to see them in the remaining nine months of the year. At that time they will switch insurance. Of course there's the additional potential loss of coverage of other providers from making such a switch.

Some will switch PCP's because they require more regular care or because they have other services covered by Aetna which they wouldn't want to lose access to.