This commentary is by Dawn Moskowitz, a resident of Burlington.
As one of the thousands of people facing the imminent loss of in-network coverage by the UVM Health Network, I’m alerting.
Does your family have “UnitedHealth Care Commercial Insurance” plan insurance like me? Have you been notified that care from your current doctor or nearby hospital will no longer be covered within the network as of April 1st?
Also, are there any families scheduled for April that are uncertain and can be expensive? Are you struggling to find a place and way to access more affordable care?
It’s scary to receive this news, read the article, and feel helpless. We are calling on all of us affected by this dispute between UnitedHealthcare Insurance and the UVM Health Network to seek new contracts in the coming days.
Please contact Vermont Health Care Advocate (1-800-917-7787) or fill out an online request here to help resolve this issue.
I read Eliza Graves’ story about being diagnosed with a disastrous cancer and having to drive for almost three hours on a round trip for chemotherapy. A few years ago, my husband fought aggressive cancer with a strict treatment policy for over a year. So you can clearly imagine the increased fatigue and stress of needing care far away from home.
My heart was turned to Eliza and I thank her and Jordan Calderara for telling the media. I also realized that I needed to speak up. As they have been affected, we need to speak out collectively before it’s too late.
For the past two weeks, I’ve been doing my best to advocate. I called the president’s office at UVM Medical Center and talked to the patient experience manager. The Patient Experience Manager has ensured that my concerns and the concerns of all callers are in leadership.
I heard a lot of explanations about why the elected leader wasn’t authorized to tackle this issue and was told who else to call. I have written countless emails, many of which have not been answered.
I contacted the Vermont Financial Regulatory Authority and Senator Leahy’s office. And with the help of state representatives and state senators, we learned how the Green Mountain Care Board was involved and connected with the Vermont Health Advocate.
I know I’m not alone, and that other affected people are doing this same kind of outreach and becoming more and more desperate.
I understand that there is no easy way to a UVM Health Network that has a contract with United Healthcare. Still, together, we really believe we are not helpless.
Contact Vermont Health Care Advocate to help bring us together. Time is running out! Like Eliza and Jordan, an estimated 3,000-10,000 people this directly impacts all need to stand up to show that we are over.
To resolve this crisis for many families like us, we need to ask all parties in the state to work with the UVM Health Network and United Healthcare. From what I understand, it means Governor, Green Mountain Care Board, and Treasury Regulatory Authority.
It is also the success of the complex interactions of the factors that state representatives and senators, legislative medical committee leaders, and Senators Reich, Sanders, and Welch brought us to this difficult situation. Means adjusting to ensure the results, thousands of people in Vermont and nearby New Yorkers have significantly reduced access to medical care, and no options have been offered.
Like many, the loss of network coverage on the UVM Health Network on April 1st will have a huge impact on my family. Our cost to access the healthcare we depend on will skyrocket.
I work remotely for a moderately sized nonprofit and my husband is self-employed. There are no alternative insurance options. And even if you work with your employer to find ways to get different health insurance, even if you can do all the paperwork in one day, you can’t register and everything will collapse. New health insurance plan for April.
If the agreement is not reached by March 31, thousands of users will not be able to use the benefits in the network from the next day.
At least, you need to maintain coverage within the network until December 2022, so it’s reasonable to find more accessible and affordable care, or to find alternative health insurance during the open registration period. I have time. It’s not fair, it just ends in-network access on April 1st.
As we tell our story and the UVM Health Network and leaders fully see and hear the effects of this imminent crisis, our state will respond to this situation with the same urgency, care and compassion as others. I hope. Floods and other emergencies cause harm and damage to thousands of Vermont residents.
This is a complex issue that highlights the challenges of our healthcare system, and people have a strong opinion about the causes: insurance company interests, general health care costs, inadequate Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates. I am aware that I also want to find a real solution for this broken system.
But they don’t come early enough to protect my family, and there are many other people who face great financial, emotional, and healthy costs on April 1st. Contact your medical advocate now. April 1st is only 2 days.
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