A Letter from Dr. Peter Danis, Mercy family medicine physician and Mercy Family Medicine Residency faculty
On a daily basis, our patients with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield are sharing their frustration, sadness, and confusion that the insurance company has not reached an agreement with Mercy. The patients feel caught in the middle and my heart goes out to them. This past week, I received a call from a mother of seven – I have cared for her, her husband and their seven children for 30 years. I could hear the stress in her voice as she wondered what she and her family were going to do if a settlement was not reached.
Part of the patient distress is the thought of losing the expertise, compassion and care Mercy has provided them over the years. Another part of that distress is the thought of a relationship going away… a relationship that has been built over years (sometimes decades) as challenges, joys, sorrows, transitions, and life events have been shared with their physician. This potentially lost relationship will also be experienced by me and my team, those of us who have also shared so much of our lives and work with our patients.
In the midst of this time of unknowns, our patients are universally expressing their support for Mercy and wanting to continue with their Mercy physicians and the entire Mercy care team. I am encouraged by this. We have encouraged our patients to contact Anthem directly and express their desire to continue with Mercy and encourage negotiators to reach a solution.
I, along with my clinic staff, are supportive of Mercy taking this stand. We have shared with our patients that Mercy is taking this stand for them so that we will have the resources to continue providing the quality care and service they have come to expect from us.
If an agreement is not reached, there will be a cost we all have to share – patients, families, Mercy, Anthem. Our hope is if we are asked to accept this cost, our sacrifice will lead to better long-term health care solutions for our patients, families, and Mercy.
I have committed to pray for our Mercy team representing us in negotiations and hope a satisfactory agreement can be achieved for all, particularly our patients.
