State lawmakers demand State Health Department investigate Optum

ALBANY – State Senator Peter Harckham and State Assemblyman Matt Slater have called on the State Health Department to respond to Optum Health Care’s decision dropping coverage for several low-cost health plans while shuttering local medical facilities.

The two lawmakers noted by eliminating multiple plans including Individual Exchange options such as Fidelis / WellCare and Cigna / HealthSpring, many low-income residents, Medicare Advantage enrollees and Medicaid patients will be impacted.

The lawmakers also warned that closing Optum’s multi-specialty medical office in Somers will force patients, many of them older adults or individuals with complex medical needs, to travel farther for care.

On Tuesday the two men who represent constituents in Putnam and northern Westchester charged such