U.S. Representative Jamie Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, speaks with Lewis County Sheriff Rob Snaza following a roundtable discussion in Morton last April.
Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler penned a letter to Washington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler this week urging him to take immediate action to fix what she called a “looming health care crisis” for residents in Pacific County who face a reduction in health care coverage.
Residents in rural Pacific County currently enrolled in Premera insurance plans will no longer be able to access providers across the river in Oregon beginning Jan. 1.
“Instead of a roughly 30-minute drive, they will have to travel nearly one and a half hours to receive critical health care from cardiologists, pediatricians, psychologists, or to deliver a baby,” stated a press release from Herrera Beutler’s office.
Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, asked Kreidler to work with health insurance companies to ensure individuals have timely and adequate health care.
“It’s worth noting that these plans — and the restricted networks they now offer — were filed with your office in the spring of 2016,” Herrera Beutler wrote. “Any effort to shift the blame for these changes to the new presidential administration or congressional efforts to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would not reflect the facts.”
She stated the health care system should work for everyone, including those who reside in rural areas. With open enrollment already taking place, Herrera Beutler requested quick action to fix the situation.
