State Representative Charlie Meier wants a solution found so that downstate retired state employees covered by the Aetna health care plan don’t lose access to care at BJC HealthCare and Washington University School of Medicine.
Letters have gone out notifying thousands of retirees that certain care may no longer be covered at the St. Louis hospitals.
Meier hopes to avoid the cutoff.
“We are trying to get CMS, Aetna, and BJC all in the same room together to keep working on this and come up with a plan on how they are going to continue to provide service. But by law, they had to send out the letters. They keep talking; it’s going to happen that they won’t come to an agreement. But we don’t have an agreement yet, and hopefully we’ll come up with one somehow. You need to start thinking about you may have to find a different doctor. I hope not. I wouldn’t want to find a different doctor, and I don’t think you would either. ”
Meier says the disruption could force patients, including those undergoing treatment, to pay more out of pocket if they don’t seek care elsewhere.
He notes a similar stalemate developed when Blue Cross provided coverage to the retired employees four or five years ago, and a solution was eventually found.
