​Patients left in limbo as OHSU and United Healthcare stall on deal

PORTLAND, ORE. (KOIN) — A local pastor describes the ongoing negotiations between OHSU and United Healthcare as a “matter of life or death.”

With less than a month to finalize a deal, patients like Mike Ashland are left in uncertainty as talks drag on.

At 73, Mike Ashland faces heart failure with determination. His daily activities are carefully managed, but he remains engaged in life.

For Ashland, the struggle started in 2007. The avid runner began feeling constantly fatigued, even from simple tasks. It was later discovered that half of his heart muscle had been damaged by a massive heart attack.

“I was pretty close to death,” Ashland recalls.

After the heart attack, Ashland underwent intense treatments, including being defibrillated internally.

“Being defibrillated inside your body is like having a stallion kick you from inside,” he said, referring to the procedure he endured multiple times.

Aged out of eligibility for a heart transplant, Ashland now relies on an internal pacemaker to survive.

For the last 18 years, he has made the trek from Silverton to OHSU in Portland for treatment at least once a month.

But with just weeks to go, the uncertainty of the contract dispute between OHSU and United Healthcare is leaving patients like Ashland in limbo.

OHSU operates a network of hospitals and clinics, including those branded under OHSU, Adventist, and Tuality, which includes Hillsboro Medical Center.

However, negotiations with United Healthcare, which began last year, have not yet resulted in a final deal. OHSU has stopped booking appointments beyond March.

“I’m not going to use any of the words I’d like to use to describe this,” Ashland said, expressing his frustration. “To start from scratch somewhere could probably kill me.”

Now, Ashland is scrambling for new insurance as his last appointment looms on the 28th.

In statements, OHSU said the negotiations aim to cut costs and improve care. But United Healthcare has criticized OHSU for making little progress and demanding unsustainable price hikes.

Ashland said he’s caught in the middle with 75,000 other patients.

Ashland emphasized that the next few weeks are critical.

“These next couple of weeks, three weeks, for healthcare for me, it’s not exaggeration to say it’s live or die,” he said.

According to United Healthcare, patients may still qualify for in-network benefits at OHSU if they are pregnant, have cancer, or are undergoing cancer treatment.