Oregon Health Plan to remain in network at Salem Health in 2026
Salem Health and PacificSource have reached an agreement to continue serving patients on the Oregon Health Plan through 2026, a Salem Health spokeswoman, Lisa Wood, said Tuesday evening.
The existing contract between Salem’s largest health care provider and not-for-profit insurance company PacificSource was set to end on Jan. 1. PacificSource administers Medicaid in a number of Oregon counties, including Marion and Polk.
“PacificSource will remain in‑network at all Salem Health facilities in 2026, ensuring uninterrupted access to care,” Wood said in an email to Salem Reporter.
PacificSource spokeswoman Lauren Thompson confirmed the deal Wednesday morning, and said it includes Oregon Health Plan members and those on the Healthier Oregon Program and OHP Bridge members for Salem, Dallas and within the Salem Health Medical Group.
“We value the collaboration that led to this outcome and remain committed to keeping health care accessible and high quality for our members,” Thompson said.
Neither party disclosed terms of the agreement, and neither has said publicly what the sticking points in negotiations were. Contracts generally cover how much an insurance company pays a health care provider to treat its members.
The news comes just over a month after Medicaid recipients were informed in a letter from the insurer that Salem Health could be leaving their network on Jan. 1, as the parties had failed to reach a contract for Oregon Health Plan patients. They’d already reached agreements for patients on commercial insurance and on Medicare, which is the federal program for people age 65 and older.
No agreement would have meant around 140,000 low-income people in Marion and Polk counties covered by the Oregon Health Plan would have needed to book appointments at smaller clinics or travel outside of Salem for care. Federal law protects patients from paying out-of-network prices for emergency care, including airlifts.
The letter came after a year of shrinking options for Medicaid patients in Salem. Around 10,000 patients lost coverage at Salem Clinic earlier this year, after it failed to reach a contract to cover most Oregon Health Plan patients in-network.
As a result, other providers in the community, including Northwest Human Services, are bracing for an influx of patients in the new year. Northwest Human Services plans to take on an additional 2,500 patients from Salem Clinic, and hired a new physician to support the expansion among other changes, the federally qualified health care center told Salem Reporter earlier this month.
An estimated 10,000 patients on Regence BlueCross BlueShield insurance who regularly used Salem Health had to find providers outside of Salem Health’s sprawling network earlier this year, after the health system and insurer failed to reach a contract after months of negotiations. Both pointed to rising costs of providing health care as a major issue.
Salem Reporter has sent additional questions to Salem Health and PacificSource about the rate changes within the new contract and preparations ahead of federal changes to Medicaid coverage in 2026. Wood said that due to the New Year’s Day holiday on Thursday the response would likely be delayed until next week.
UPDATE: This story has been updated to include comment from PacificSource and additional context about Medicaid in Salem.
Contact reporter Abbey McDonald: [email protected] or 503-575-1251.
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Abbey McDonald joined the Salem Reporter in 2022. She previously worked as the business reporter at The Astorian, where she covered labor issues, health care and social services. A University of Oregon grad, she has also reported for the Malheur Enterprise, The News-Review and Willamette Week.
