Hundreds of thousands of Oregonians will lose coverage under Providence Health Plans by 2027, leaving many concerned about rising medical costs.
PORTLAND, Ore. — A major Oregon health insurance company has announced it will eliminate most of its insurance plans starting next year.
Providence announced Wednesday Citing cost and regulatory pressure, the company will withdraw from most insurance sold as Providence Health Plan.
Chelsea Blando, who is enrolled in Providence Health Plan, told KGW she was surprised to find out she would need to find a new insurance company until next year.
“How can a company only think about itself and its own profits and not think about the number of people that are going to be affected? That’s really frustrating,” Brando said.
Providence Health Plan has more than 420,000 members in Oregon and more than 13,000 members in Washington state. Although Providence is a nonprofit, administrators say their costs have grown too great to put a pen to paper.
“We are doing this because changes in the health care environment – including state and federal regulation – are making it increasingly difficult for regional, not-for-profit health plans like PHP to thrive,” Providence President and CEO Eric Wexler wrote in a statement.
Wexler went on to say that consolidation among the country’s larger insurance companies has left them in an “unsustainable” situation.
For context, Providence Health Plan reported a net loss of Over $100 million last year.
Regardless, losing a major regional insurance company puts people like Brando in a difficult position.
“We went from 15 cents to over $100, and now we’re probably at $200-$300 … which is way beyond what we can really afford,” she said.
Currently, Providence is working to make the benefits available to Medicare Advantage members and says it will help individuals and employers find alternatives.
“It’s not that we’re making that much money, it’s that we’re making so much money that we can’t afford OHP,” Brando said.
Coverage for PHP members will continue through 2026, but the health plan will not renew or offer employer group or individual family plans in 2027.
