Seniors receiving benefits from the Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association may be facing challenges after being switched to a healthcare plan that is no longer accepted by Montrose Regional Health
Yesterday, we reported that MRH eliminated over 70 positions as it tries to reconcile its budget crisis. In an email obtained by KVNF, the company also says that it’s been pursuing other cost-cutting measures.
Included in those efforts was the decision to drop Humana Medicare Advantage Plans in October of last year. In a press release, MRH stated that “The decision follows ongoing challenges that have affected both patient care and hospital operations, including long waits for authorizations, denials of medically necessary services, and significant delays in payment for care already provided.” The press release also states that MRH absorbed more than $1.5 million in unpaid or underpaid claims tied to Medicare Advantage plans in the several years leading up to the decision..
During public comment at Monday’s Montrose County Commission meeting, former commissioner Ron Henderson said that members of the Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association were being switched to the Humana plan that is no longer accepted by MRH. He told the commissioners, "it's going to be a biggie."
Later in the meeting, the director of the Basin Clinic in Naturita, Christina Pierce, said Humana "stinks" and that she doesn't blame MRH for dropping them.
It’s not immediately clear how many individuals will be impacted by MRH’s decision to drop the plan, but PERA is the largest public pension plan in Colorado– so it’s likely to have effects in the KVNF listening area.
