Legacy Health Threatens to Raise Prices for Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon Customers: Understanding the Impasse in Healthcare Contract Talks

If a new contract is not reached between Legacy Health and Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon by Sunday, patients insured with Regence could face higher costs as their providers may become out of network. Legacy Health has informed 200,000 customers that their prices could increase significantly if no agreement is reached.

Legacy Chief Population Health Officer Merrin Permuth has advised patients to contact their insurance company for information on in-network versus out-of-network costs if the contract expires without an agreement. The fate of this contract will determine future costs and network access for Legacy patients insured with Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon.

Both sides are taking a hard line in the negotiations, with Regence claiming that Legacy was offered a competing contract that has not yet been accepted or rejected. In contrast, Legacy points out that Regence has been profitable and accumulating cash while healthcare providers like Legacy have struggled in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. This loss was reported to be $172 million last fiscal year by Legacci, highlighting the financial disparity between it and Regence which reported a 4.8% profit on billions of dollars in revenue.