Our Commitment to Keeping Care Local, Accessible, and Affordable
At South Shore Health, we’re proud to provide expert, compassionate care, right here in our community – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
We're committed to keeping care local, accessible, and of the highest quality, all while maintaining affordable care and offering advanced and specialized services that are often unavailable at other community hospitals.
In addition, we continue to meet the growing needs of a broader community in the wake of numerous healthcare challenges and hospital closures in our region.
As a community-based health system, it’s vital that we remain financially stable to ensure we're here for the long term to keep care local, accessible, and affordable.
With that stability in mind, we periodically engage in negotiations with insurers to seek fair and reasonable payment that reflects the value and quality we deliver.
Potential Changes for Select Patients
At times, negotiations are unsuccessful, with insurers unwilling to offer our Health System fair and reasonable payment for the high-quality care we provide.
As a result, these insurers choose to remove South Shore Health from their networks, potentially impacting your patient experience.
While we continue to engage with insurers in hopes of reaching an agreement, this page features information for patients affected by specific insurance changes, as well as answers to frequently asked questions about insurance changes.
We're dedicated to supporting patients during any periods of transition.
For detailed information on your coverage options going forward, please contact your insurer directly by calling the number on your member ID card.
Important Information for Cigna Healthcare Patients
Cigna Healthcare has made the decision to no longer cover two separate groups of providers at South Shore Health.
The details on those changes can be found below:
- Effective November 15, 2026, Cigna Healthcare will no longer accept a group of specialty providers under Coastal Medical Associates (CMA) as in-network for its patients.
- Effective December 31, 2026, Cigna Healthcare will no longer accept South Shore Medical Center (SSMC) as in-network for its patients.
Please note that Cigna Healthcare's decision to no longer accept SSMC as in-network for its patients applies to both primary and specialty care providers at SSMC, The Women's Center of SSMC, South Shore Cardiology, and South Shore Urology.
South Shore Hospital, South Shore Health Urgent Care, and South Shore VNA remain in-network with Cigna Healthcare.
Due to Cigna Healthcare's decision to no longer consider these groups of providers as in-network for its patients, appointments with these providers will be canceled.
- All Cigna Healthcare patient appointments with CMA providers scheduled after November 15, 2026, will be canceled.
- All Cigna Healthcare patient appointments with SSMC providers scheduled after December 31, 2026, will be canceled.
All patients with affected appointments will be notified of any cancellations.
No. While your Cigna Healthcare plan may include out-of-network coverage, please note that per South Shore Health policy, we do not schedule out-of-network patients for elective care appointments.
Emergencies will continue to be treated at our facilities, regardless of insurance coverage.
If you have questions about which providers are considered in-network, please contact Cigna Healthcare via the number on your member ID card.
In certain circumstances, Cigna Healthcare may determine that you can continue care with your current provider if your medical circumstances warrant such an approval.
Any decisions regarding continuity of care coverage are made by Cigna Healthcare, not South Shore Health.
If you have questions about continuity of care coverage, please contact Cigna Healthcare via the number on your member ID card.
If you have questions about how these changes will affect you, please contact Cigna Healthcare:
You can reach Cigna Healthcare via the number on your member ID card.
You can visit the Cigna Healthcare website for additional contact information, including live chat options.
Frequently Asked Questions about Insurance Changes
As a community-based health system, South Shore Health provides the same high-quality care as other hospitals but at a lower cost, right here in our community – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
South Shore Health needs to be financially stable to ensure we are here for the long term to care for the residents of the communities we serve.
Unfortunately, certain insurers have been unwilling to offer our health system fair and reasonable payment for the high-quality care we provide.
As a result, they end their contract with us (called a termination) and no longer cover the care we provide patients with that type of insurance.
As a result of the termination of our contract with your insurer, we were forced to cancel all appointments with our providers and the health system scheduled for beyond the contract termination date.
View a list of insurances we currently accept. >>
Please note that while we make every effort to keep this list current, plan names and benefits change frequently.
We encourage you to call your insurer to learn the details of your plan's benefits.
If you have an employer-sponsored plan, you may have an opportunity to change your plan option to include South Shore Health’s hospital and physicians during the normal annual employer benefits election process. Please consult your employer's Human Resources department for more information.
View a list of insurances we currently accept. >>
If you have a plan through the Massachusetts Health Connector, you may opt to switch to another plan that covers South Shore Health during the Health Connector’s Open Enrollment Period, which runs from November 1 to January 1 each year, with changes taking effect January 1. You can review your options via mahix.org or by contacting the Financial Counseling Department at South Shore Health at 781-624-4329 for assistance from Certified Application Counselors.
Please discuss this with your current provider to ensure you have an adequate amount of your medication on hand as you establish care under another physician during this transition.
If you have a South Shore Health MyChart account, you can use MyChart to request the necessary prescription refills.
You will be able to get one refill for your prescription at the discretion of your physician (between a 30- and 90-day supply) to ensure you have enough medication during any transition process.
South Shore Hospital will always provide emergency care to anyone, no matter what insurance you may have. Emergency Department visits will still be covered by your insurance plan.
Hospitals in Massachusetts are required to provide emergency care to all patients, regardless of their insurance status. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, you will receive the necessary treatment at our Emergency Department.
South Shore Health does accept direct payment from patients, and all payment should be paid in full prior to service.
Please contact our Patient Access Team at 781-624-3424 for any assistance.
Please contact your insurer for more information.
In certain circumstances, your insurer may determine that you can continue care with your current provider if your medical circumstances warrant such an approval.
Any decisions regarding continuity of care coverage are made by your insurer, not South Shore Health.
If you have questions about continuity of care coverage, please contact your insurer via the number on your member ID card.
You can request your medical records through our Medical Records Department. To learn more about the request process, please click here.
You can also contact our Medical Records Department by calling 781-624-8235.
There will be a nominal fee of $6.50 for the processing records requests.
If you have questions about how insurance-related changes will affect your care at South Shore Health, please call 781-624-5500.
All other questions relating to changes in coverage can be directed to your insurer by calling the number on your member ID card.
Medical Records
Accepted Insurances
While we make every effort to ensure our list is current, plan names and benefits change frequently.
We encourage you to call your insurer to learn the details of your plan's benefits.
