Providence Drop Of Premera Could Affect Thousands In Everett

July 13, 2016

Everett

Providence Hospital

Providence expanded in Everett back in 2011.

Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett is at the top of the list of facilities affected by the cancellation of the 2017 contract between Providence Health and Services and Premera.

Here’s today’s announcement…

Providence, Swedish, Pacific Medical Centers and Kadlec has made the decision to not renew our current commercial contract with Premera in Washington for 2017. The current contract end date will be Dec. 31, 2016.

As a not-for-profit organization committed to serving everyone, we were hopeful for positive, collaborative discussions. However, Premera has been unwilling to approach these discussions with the same intent.

Therefore, Providence has made the decision to not renew our commercial contract with all of Premera’s plans in Washington for 2017. This does not include the Medicare products, and our Medicare patients will not be impacted.

What does this mean for patients with Premera coverage?
For the remainder of 2016, this decision does not effect Premera patients using our facilities and physicians. However, all of Providence, Swedish, Kadlec and PacMed’s facilities and network of physicians and clinics will be out of network for Premera enrollees starting on January 1, 2017. This may mean increased out-of-pocket expenses.

Thousands of Everett residents could be affected by the decision though there is still time for the two sides to get back to the bargaining table. You can see more about the decision and a Q & A here.

Here is a statement released this afternoon from Premera…

After months of negotiating, Providence Health & Services has abruptly terminated our contract effective January 1, 2017.

On behalf of our 2.2 million customers, Premera has a long history of working collaboratively with our hospital and physician partners. We work with all major hospitals and physician groups in the state of Washington. All other large providers have made commitments with us to improve healthcare for our customers in Washington. Specifically, these major providers have committed to more aggressively control costs, improve the quality of care with performance-based payments, and enhance the patient experience. We invited Providence to similarly meet the needs of our customers in alignment with this community standard. In terminating, Providence Health & Services stands apart from the broader provider community in Washington who seek to address the needs of our customers.

We will continue to work with providers, on our customers’ behalf, to ensure that customers have access to high-quality, high-value healthcare in their community after December 31, 2016. In the meantime, we remain open to working with Providence on a new contract, if they are willing to meet the needs of our customers.

As the oldest and largest health plan in Washington with deep community roots, we take our job seriously to provide access to the best quality medicine at the very best price. Therefore, on behalf of the people we both serve, we ask Providence to come back to the negotiation table and resolve this issue. Let’s stop putting the customer in the middle and come to a reasonable solution.

Steve Kipp
Vice President, Corporate Communications
Premera Blue Cross


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