We have been going to Primary Pediatrics in Oakland for several years and love all the doctors there for our daughter. We received a letter in the mail recently saying they were going to stop accepting United HealthCare PPO due to the recent merger with PacifiCare and they would now be considered ''out of network.'' In talking to the pediatric office they said this is happening with a lot of the offices around Oakland area. We are really upset with this and don't want to compromise our daughters care at all but also don't want to pay a fortune for each doctor visit, esp. when she needs her shots or has a real illness. We are at a loss and don't know what to do (I have United PPO and my husband has PacifiCare, which they won't take now either). Is anyone else having this problem? Any recommendations what to do? DO you know a good pediatric group in Oakland that takes United PPO in case we do have to switch? (Why are health plans compromising good health care??!!) Frustrated mom

As fewer and fewer practices will accept UHC, and more and more patients are ''covered'' by UHC thanks to mergers, then we are simply headed for trouble. Will there be enough good practices to choose from? What if we all switched carriers? What if we all wrote letters of complaint? How many of us are there?

As a practical matter, if you file ''continuation of care'' paperwork with UHC you can at least have your old practice considered in-network. You'll have to make up the difference in cost yourself, but at least you won't have to pay for the whole thing Nicole