Providence recently made the decision to contract out the administration of their health plan to Collective Health and to no longer be a carrier for PEBB in 2027.

While Providence says it intends to continue to be a health care provider, the fact that they have already contracted out the administration of their health plan (and that rollout has been a nightmare for many of you), our union has serious concerns that members will continue to receive the health care they deserve.

Here is some critical information you need to know:

• Please continue to flag issues around care directly to PEBB staff because they are closely monitoring your concerns about Providence and raising them directly with the company. Your health and the health of your family must be centered during this time. Whether you are having providers asking you to pay them up front or being billed for services you shouldn’t have to pay, to having issues with your prescriptions or making sure your provider is recognizing your medical authorizations – any of those specific issues should be flagged to PEBB for troubleshooting – pebb.benefits@odhsoha.oregon.gov
• We must hold Providence accountable, and one of the ways to do that is by sharing public comment with the PEBB board. It puts them on public record for not following their contracts – Public-Comment-Notice.pdf. Sharing specific personal health information is not necessary; public comments can be general and should be sent here – pebb.board@odhsoha.oregon.gov.
• We know this has had direct impact on people’s health and caused stress: some having to wait long periods for care and others being turned away for services because of Collective’s lack of responsiveness. We have reached out to one of the attorneys that led on the Workday class action suit to see if they would be willing to take on a class action suit around this. We will share further information once we have it. If you do share your name via public comment, be aware that an attorney may reach out to see if you would be interested in joining the suit (you have the option not to share your name when making public comment).

Lastly, we want you to know that PEBB is coordinating with the state Department of Justice to hold Providence accountable and has issued a “notice to cure” which lays out financial penalties for being in breach of contract. The PEBB board will use tools at its disposal to hold Providence accountable to providing your care.