PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – A healthcare insurance nightmare.
“The actual physical and mental impact that this has had on me—losing sleep, interrupting my work—all of this,” said Portland mom and resident Melanie Bobbett.
She said her family is living in uncertain times.
She was already battling Regence for months over their denied claims for her child’s serious health issue, when her partner received a notification that his insurance plan was ending on April 1.
“It’s a disaster. It’s actively imploding. What I’m dealing with, with my small child and my partner, is a catastrophe,” said Bobbett.
After about six months of negotiations, Regence and Legacy Health couldn’t reach an agreement on reimbursement rates, ultimately ending their contract for roughly 150,000 patients insured through Regence.
Officials said rising operating costs are the problem.
“The last thing we want is for anyone to delay care. So, we are encouraging them to apply for continuity of care with Regence or their other Blue Cross Blue Shield health plan,” said Merrin Permut, chief population health officer at Legacy Health.
Both Legacy and Regence say they’re open to continuing negotiations.
Regence officials tell FOX 12 they’ve set up a dedicated customer service team ready to assist patients needing help.
As the uncertainty of care lingers over Bobbett’s family, the mother of two says she plans to do all she can to create change.
“Seems like that can be fixed.”
“Exactly,” Bobbett and her neighbor said.
Bobbett’s neighbor, Mary Hennrich, has worked with Health Care for All Oregon.
The organization aims to provide universal healthcare for Oregonians.
“There’s some of us who tilt at windmills and say, ‘Can’t we do better than this?’ And I do it for my grandkids, because ultimately, the way it is now, it will collapse,” said Hennrich.
Hennrich said Health Care for All Oregon plans to meet with lawmakers in September about the state adopting universal healthcare.
Hennrich also said the group plans to hold a handful of town hall meetings in the coming weeks across the state.
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