Thousands of patients across the state will have to find new doctors or specialists after Optum announced it is laying off hundreds of employees.   

An exclusive video obtained by News 12 shows more than 500 Optum employees in New Jersey learning on a video email that they would soon be out of work.

“Today we are notifying you that your position is being eliminated. This was a difficult decision and one that we did not take lightly,” said the Optum representative on the emailed video. 

For patients like Cathy Mazur, of Barnegat Township, there’s uncertainty heading into the holidays. 

“To find out today that after next week I will no longer have a pulmonologist,” she said. “I have an appointment next week with my pulmonologist and then he’s gone.” 

The layoffs will hit the offices of pulmonologists, pediatricians, mental health specialists and more by the end of the year or early next year.  

An employee who did not want to be identified says the number of dislocated patients in Ocean County alone will overwhelm the system. 

“Is this putting people’s lives at risk? Most definitely. Most definitely,” said the Optum employee. “You talk about being a patient care-centered practice but how can you do that when you’re telling patients that they must find a new provider and God knows when they’ll be able to get in?” 

Patient Meg Reff says she has no idea where she’ll go next. 

“It will threaten my life if I can’t get the medicines I need. We don’t have that many specialists down here to begin with,” said Reff.  

Optum, owned by United Health Group, sent News 12 this statement: 

“As part of our commitment to making health care more affordable, we regularly review our services, footprint and staffing levels to ensure they meet the needs of the people we serve, our business and evolving market dynamics. We are supporting affected team members with job placement resources and will redeploy our talent to suitable open roles within the company. And we are providing clear information and support to our patients to ensure uninterrupted care.” 

The Ocean County Health Department tells News 12 it has services available to help people, especially women, infants and children looking for assistance because of the Optum layoffs. For more information, CLICK HERE.