Health insurance coverage for services at local hospitals pursuing a merger has emerged as a top concern as executives for Salem Health and Santiam Hospital Clinics spell out their plans. The Salem and Stayton operations are seeking state approval to merge. But 30,000 local people who rely on Regence BlueCross BlueShield to help cover medical costs have for a year faced higher costs for care from Salem Health facilities because the insurer has been out of network at Salem Health. Last March, Salem Health canceled appointments for those insured through the company, saying they didn’t want patients to continue to rack up bills. The insurer is still accepted for in-network charges at Santiam through June 2027. The concerns about the insurance have cropped up as Salem Health CEO Cheryl Nester Wolfe and Santiam CEO Maggie Hudson continue a series of community meetings to explain the merger. They most recently fielded questions from an audience of about three dozen people during a town hall on Tuesday, March 3, at the Salem Public Library.  They faced questions not only about Regence insurance coverage but concerns about Salem Health’s continuing expansion in the local health care market and the future of services at the hospitals.  The hospital executives are also having town halls in Stayton on Tuesday, March 17; Mill City on Wednesday, March 18; and virtually on Tuesday, April 21.  Regence coverage In separate interviews with Salem Reporter, Hudson and Nester Wolfe pointed to Regence coverage as one of the most common concerns they’ve heard in the community.  Nester Wolfe said Salem Health tried to restart negotiations with Regence last August on the condition the talks be kept confidential. Regence would not agree to confidentiality, she said. “Our door is open for Regence. We have approached them about renegotiating but we don’t … want to alarm the community that we’re back talking again. Because if we were to do that, and then it didn’t work out, that just magnifies the horror of this situation … We all feel horrified about it,” Nester Wolfe said. Salem Health and Regence negotiated in early 2025 shortly after their contract expired on Dec. 31, 2024, but talks soon stalled. Both organizations issued public statements pointing the finger at the other for the breakdown.  Regence spokesman Dean Johnson said the insurer has tried to reengage Salem Health since then. He didn’t say how many times Regence has approached Salem Health. “Salem Health leadership has refused and demanded we sign a non-disclosure agreement before starting negotiations. A non-disclosure agreement would prevent Regence from having both public and private conversations – even with our regulators or customers – about the fact that we are even in talks, absent a subpoena,” Johnson said in an email. Johnson said the insurer shares the concerns from patients over the merger and is evaluating the outcome of the deal for its members.  Confidentiality requirements for now don’t allow Salem Health and Santiam to share insurer contracts each currently has in place, according to Salem Health spokeswoman Lisa Wood. Wood said Salem Health would negotiate any new contracts “in good faith” following the merger. Legacy Health Silverton is the only other hospital in Marion County that accepts Regence customers as in network. Salem Health’s reach During Tuesday’s town hall, a few residents expressed concern about Salem Health’s reach in the local health care market. The system includes Salem Hospital, West Valley Hospital in Dallas and 22 outpatient clinics in Marion and Polk counties.  Among those clinics is Salem Health Urology, formerly known as Willamette Urology, which Salem Health acquired in 2024.  Nester Wolfe said the independent practice approached Salem Health for the deal. “They were like, ‘We have two choices here. We can either become employed, or we can leave the community,’” Nester Wolfe said. One resident asked Nester Wolfe if Salem Health has any plans to acquire Salem Clinic, which accepts Regence. Nester Wolfe said that the clinic appears to be doing well.  “The reality is that the money is shrinking, the cost keeps going up,” Nester Wolfe said in the town hall. “I kinda stopped being surprised when the physicians call me.” Nester Wolfe said she opened the door to the Santiam merger in conversations with Hudson.  The proposed deal If approved by state regulators, the Salem system will give Santiam $61 million to cover debts, upgrade hospital services and establish a shared health records system.  Hudson told residents there would be no cuts to the services Santiam provides.  Most of the money Salem Health would pay the Stayton hospital would go toward upgrading the rural hospital’s infrastructure and services. While decisions haven’t been finalized, hospital officials say those upgrades could include employing more providers at Santiam or creating an urgent care clinic in the Santiam Canyon.  Some patients questioned if the merger would address barriers they’ve faced with the Salem system.  One resident, who said he has been on a waiting list to see a primary care provider for a year, asked Nester Wolfe if the merger would make it easier to get an appointment. Nester Wolfe said hospital leaders “believe it will,” and credited the delay to workforce shortages.  The state is taking public comment during its review process. Comments can be made by email to [email protected], voicemail at 503-945-6161 or an online public comment form. Santiam accepts public comment about the merger by email at [email protected] or phone at 503-400-6116. Salem Health accepts public comment by email at [email protected]. Hospital leaders are hosting more town halls and visiting local chamber meetings. A detailed calendar of those events can be found here. “The issue of having to wait and get an appointment is universal,” Nester Wolfe said in the town hall. “We have made some inroads.” Nester Wolfe said the merger could potentially cut wait times down “a little bit” for the Salem Hospital emergency department, which is one of the busiest on the West Coast. The department had 115,000 visits in 2024.  Santiam’s emergency department sees about 2,000 a month, spokeswoman Melissa Baurer said.  Hudson said the likelihood of the state approving the merger was “pretty high.” Hudson and Nester Wolfe have previously pointed to how the hospitals are compatible as nonprofit systems and in their commitment to their communities.  “We really do fit what they are looking for,” Hudson said of the state review program.  The state is reviewing the hospitals’ submission and will publish it publicly to their website when done. The state will continue to review the deal thereafter. Wood and Baurer said the hospitals are working to provide the additional information requested by the state. Hospital officials will be working on those requests over the next few weeks. The hospitals are planning to complete their deal by Sept. 30 and anticipate state approval before then, Wood said. Salem Health and Santiam Hospital file with state to merge Salem Health, Santiam Hospital will seek state approval for merger Salem Health in talks to acquire Stayton hospital  Salem Health, Santiam Hospital host local town hall on merger Have a news tip? Contact reporter Hailey Cook: [email protected] . LOCAL NEWS DELIVERED TO YOU: Subscribe to Salem Reporter and get all the fact-based Salem news that matters to you. Fair, accurate, trusted – SUBSCRIBE The post Salem Health merger talks trigger concerns over insurance coverage appeared first on Salem Reporter. ...read more read less