Kasey Jackson Spoke Out When Her Son Elijah’s Cancer Hospital Was Left Out of Marketplace Plans. Now Children’s Mercy Is In-Network With UnitedHealthcare for 2027.

On Oct. 20, a Kansas mother named Kasey Jackson learned that Children’s Mercy, the Kansas City hospital treating her 13-year-old son’s leukemia, would not be in-network with any Affordable Care Act Marketplace plan in 2027. By Nov. 10, the hospital had announced it would be in-network with UnitedHealthcare’s Marketplace plans starting Jan. 1, according to KCTV5. Three other carriers are still outside the hospital’s network, and a Dec. 15 enrollment deadline is close.

Oct. 20: An Instagram Video From a Worried Mom

Jackson and her husband, Tim, are self-employed and rely on the ACA Marketplace for health insurance, KCTV5 reported. Their son, Elijah, 13, is being treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia at Children’s Mercy.

On Oct. 20, Jackson posted an Instagram video about her frustration after learning the hospital would be out of network for every Marketplace plan in 2027. She told the station she felt she was yelling into a void, and that she faced online backlash for speaking out, which she called difficult.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow, and the National Cancer Institute calls it the most common type of cancer in children. Treatment runs in phases, starting with an induction phase meant to bring the leukemia into remission, followed by consolidation and a maintenance phase.

Oct. 21 to Oct. 22: Hospital, Insurer and State Reactions

In an Oct. 22 statement, reported by KCTV5, Children’s Mercy said about 400 patients in Kansas and Missouri could lose coverage because Medica was leaving the Kansas City-area Marketplace. The Medica exit affected Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas and Clay, Jackson, Johnson, Lafayette, Platte and Ray counties in Missouri. The hospital added that other area ACA plans were already out of network and had elected not to contract with it for 2027. Families would stay in-network through the end of 2026, the hospital said, and Medicaid, Medicare, employer plans and TRICARE were not affected.

Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance Director Angela Nelson told KCTV5 on Oct. 21 that her department had received no communications from the hospital before it went public. The report said the Kansas insurance department did not know in advance either, and Nelson put the number of affected patients on the Missouri side of the metro at about 300. Kansas residents with insurance problems can reach the Kansas Insurance Department‘s Consumer Assistance Division at 800-432-2484.

During the dispute, the Jackson family also went through a spinal tap and a chemotherapy treatment, which Jackson described as a major disruption. Spinal taps are part of standard care in this illness. The cancer institute says all children with the disease receive treatment directed at the central nervous system during induction and consolidation, including chemotherapy delivered into the spinal fluid.

Nov. 10: Children’s Mercy Announces the UnitedHealthcare Deal

On Tuesday, Nov. 10, Children’s Mercy announced the agreement in a news release. “Beginning Jan. 1, Children’s Mercy will be in-network with UnitedHealthcare ACA Marketplace plans,” it said. The release does not list specific plans and points families to ChooseChildrensMercy.org to see which plans are in or out of network.

The hospital’s 2027 Marketplace FAQ on the Children’s Mercy website spells out where things stand. Children’s Mercy remains out of network for Kansas City-area enrollees on Ambetter, BlueKC’s Blue Metro and BlueSelect plans, and Oscar, though care may still be possible through each plan’s network exception process. Select by Medica is no longer offered in Kansas or Missouri beginning in January.

The hospital said it continues discussions with additional plans and will share updates. It also warned that UnitedHealthcare’s site, HealthCare.gov and online provider directories are being updated, so the in-network status may not appear right away.

Jackson, who was making dinner when she got the news, said her husband told her to go take a victory lap, KCTV5 reported. She said she has no hard feelings toward the hospital and hopes the hospital, insurers and newly elected officials act so this does not happen again. Children with life-threatening conditions, she said, should not be the ones who are sacrificed.

Dec. 15 and Jan. 15: The Dates Families Are Working Against

Open enrollment for 2027 coverage runs from Nov. 1 to Jan. 15, according to HealthCare.gov. To have coverage start Jan. 1, a plan must be chosen by Dec. 15, and the first premium must be paid. The hospital’s FAQ says open enrollment ends Jan. 15, with coverage then starting Feb. 1.

UnitedHealthcare, in its own notes on 2027 ACA changes, says its individual and family plans depend on ZIP code and county and are not offered everywhere. It also says the income-based special enrollment period ends in 2027, so outside open enrollment a qualifying life event such as marriage or a job change is needed to enroll.

For families now on Medica, the hospital’s FAQ says that coverage continues through Dec. 31, 2026, and that a new plan chosen at HealthCare.gov by Dec. 15 avoids a gap. Existing approved out-of-network exceptions stay valid for their approved period if a family remains on the same plan.

Families who choose an out-of-network plan, or do not pick one by Dec. 15, are asked to call the hospital’s financial counselors at (816) 302-1650 as soon as possible. Emergency services must be covered at an out-of-network hospital at the in-network benefit level, the hospital says.

For families in the same position, the practical result is that care at Children’s Mercy can continue under a UnitedHealthcare Marketplace plan, while members of the other three carriers’ plans still have to rely on exceptions or keep shopping. Jackson told KCTV5 that her own family can now focus on keeping the cancer away.

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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.

Image: ShawnCMH – CC0/Wikimedia Commons