WEEKEND, FEBRUARY 22-23, 2020

★ THE DURANGO HERALD ★ PAGE 5A

Centura Health Will Lower Prices at Mercy
Five Sisters of Mercy came to Durango from St.
Louis in 1882. Their leader, Mother Mary Baptist
Meyers, was new to her role and none of the
Sisters had experience in building hospitals or
schools. They lived the same hard life as most
of Southwest Colorado’s residents, and spent
their first night literally sleeping in the loft of
a barn next to St. Columba Catholic Church.
These women were as tough and fearless as
the cowboys, miners, and railroad workers that
they cared for. Within a few short months, they
delivered real, sustainable solutions by opening
two schools and a temporary orphanage.
At the same time, the Sisters opened a tiny
hospital that has grown exponentially into what
is now Mercy Regional Medical Center. In 1884,
the hospital had to close for five months due to
a smallpox epidemic and, yet, the commitment,
compassion, and resolve of the Sisters of
Mercy only grew as a result of this short-term
financial crisis.
Today, health care in Durango, La Plata County,
Archuleta County, and the Four Corners region
is expensive – too expensive. Out-of-pocket
costs are crippling for most families. Too many
Coloradans are without coverage and access,
despite national and state reforms.
There is a community perception that a large
company based in Denver seems to get in the way
more than it provides value to the community. And
real, sustainable solutions from Centura Health
have been slow coming, so other alternatives
from the state and others sound enticing.
Recommitting with resolve to our 138-year legacy
formed by the Sisters of Mercy, Centura Health
will be reducing our prices with health plan
partners in the Four Corners by at least 20%.
More importantly, we are partnering with Rocky
Mountain Health Plans (part of UnitedHealthcare)
and another major insurance plan, to ensure our
actions translate to meaningful reductions in their
premiums for you and your family.

with Bright Health on the individual exchange
and Colorado Doctors Plan for the business
community, as part of our collaboration with
UnitedHealthcare, are the two most innovative
and cost-effective products in the state today.
Real solutions don’t come in third-party
packages. We learned some valuable lessons
last year in Summit County. When Centura
offers major price discounts, it doesn’t always
correspondingly translate to reductions
in insurance premiums for individuals and
businesses. These third-party “solutions” can
also significantly and unnecessarily narrow
consumers’ choices for health care while
completely eliminating necessary competition in
the marketplace.
Sustainable solutions don’t come from
government. The state’s reinsurance program –
which Centura supported last legislative session
– was underfunded by $160 million before it
even launched. Now, we are anxiously awaiting
the draft public option bill to understand how it
aligns with what consumers are telling us they
want – enhanced choice, expanded coverage and
affordability.
• Health care in the Four Corners is too
expensive
• Centura will lower the price for hospital
services by 20%
With these lessons learned, we are actively
working with the two largest insurance companies
in your community. We are working through the
state’s “artificial” insurance region barriers to
ensure that our price reductions directly translate
to premium reductions to you, your neighbors,
and your business. Our work ahead also includes
partnering directly with employers on strategic
pricing and alignment strategies.

We will keep you updated on our progress
These aren’t just words; we already have experience around affordability and thank you for your
continued support of Centura Health’s ministry
partnering with health plans to deliver deeper
savings to Colorado consumers. Our partnership at Mercy Regional.

Peter D. Banko

Tom Gessel

President & CEO
Centura Health

Group President Centura Health
(Durango Resident)

Centura Health does not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, age, sex, religion, creed, ancestry, sexual orientation, and marital status in admission,
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