Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, which has three locations on Long Island, has struck a deal with UnitedHealthcare that will allow more than 19,000 patients to continue to receive in-network care.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center are locked in a contract standoff that threatens to interrupt treatment for thousands of cancer patients in the New York area.

The Upper East Side oncology center came to a multi-year agreement with UnitedHealth just after midnight, a few hours after its previous contract expired. The deal preserves access to in-network pricing for 19,000 patients at Memorial Sloan Kettering, some of whom were at risk of losing coverage in the middle of treatment.