Blue Cross, Salem Health reach agreement on contract for health care coverage
Jonathan BachSalem Health Hospitals & Clinics has reached an agreement with Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oregon, a multi-year contract that will save patients from interruptions to their health care coverage, according to Salem Health's chief executive.
The agreement comes after the health care organization and insurer found themselves at an impasse on contract negotiations in late 2018. Some 2,700 Regence customers on Medicare were sent letters in which Regence blamed Salem Health for being more expensive than other local, in-network medical care providers.
Salem Health is the city's dominant medical care provider and largest private employer. But if the health care provider and insurer had failed to reach a deal, Salem Health wouldn't be an in-network provider for Regence customers any longer. That would have included customers on employer and individual plans.
"The new agreement also addresses our concerns about fairly sharing the costs of health care in our community," Cheryl Wolfe, Salem Health's president and CEO, wrote in a June 17 email.
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A copy of the email was provided to the Statesman Journal, and a Salem Health spokesman confirmed a multi-year agreement had been reached. Still, terms of the deal were not immediately available.
"Salem Health's goal is the health and well-being of our community," Wolfe wrote. "This means providing accessible, affordable and high quality health care for our patients."
"We cannot accomplish this alone, but in partnership with many others, including insurance companies like Regence," Wolfe wrote. "We appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with Regence in continuing to meet the health needs of the Mid-Valley."
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Regence president Angela Dowling also heralded the agreement, saying, "We are pleased to have reached a new agreement with Salem Health that delivers high-quality, cost-effective care to the community."
Regence members can continue receiving care from Salem Health hospitals and clinics as in-network without coverage disruption, she said in a statement. Salem Health Professional Services also is in-network.
—Connor Radnovich of the Statesman Journal contributed to this article.
Jonathan Bach has been a business and City Hall reporter with the Statesman Journal since 2016. To support his work, Subscribe to the Statesman Journal. Email him at jbach@statesmanjournal.com, call (503) 399-6714 or follow him on Twitter @jonathanmbach.
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