There is just a little more than two weeks to go before St. Peter’s Hospital will no longer accept coverage from UnitedHealthcare.

The health insurance company and the hospital have been without a contract since July 1. The lapse in coverage affects thousands of people in the Capital Region.

Aug. 31 is the end of a 60-day “cooling off” period that is provided under state law, when contracts expire between health care providers and insurance companies.

Dr. Steven Hanks, president of CEO of Trinity Health New York, told NewsChannel 13’s Dan Levy that the hospital has continued to negotiate.

“We’ve been hopeful that we could reach a reasonable agreement. We’re seeking very modest increases in order to sustain our mission to caring for our community,” he said. “And we submitted a proposal the most recent proposal to United three weeks ago and we’ve not yet heard back.”

 United Healthcare said on its website that they have made multiple compromises throughout the negotiation. St. Peter’s has maintained its demands for price hikes, which the company said aren’t affordable for the employers and people it serves.

Spokesperson Cole Manbeck also issued the following follow-up statement in response to NewsChannel 13’s inquiry.

“St. Peter’s Health Partners continues to demand price hikes for our commercial plans that aren’t affordable or sustainable for New Yorkers and employers and has created unnecessary disruption for the people we serve . We proposed an extension to our contract prior to July 1 that would have ensured continued access to the health system while we continued to negotiate. St. Peter’s refused. We also recently proposed to finalize our Medicaid contract given we have agreement on terms. St. Peter’s rejected this. We are committed to continued discussions with St. Peter’s and hope they work with us to reach an agreement that’s affordable for consumers and employers.”