Patient Upset As Saint Francis Plans To End Acceptance Of Major Medicare Advantage Plans

A Tulsa woman says she received a message from Saint Francis that essentially states, change your doctor or change your insurance.

This is because certain Medicare Advantage plans will no longer be accepted by the hospital system.

This change affects anyone on Medicare Advantage plans through providers like Humana, Aetna, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield, as well as some others. While it is only affecting primary care physicians, one woman worries this is just the beginning.

In a message from her doctor on MyChart, Debra Stephens recently learned she would need to find a new doctor.

“I felt like I’d been a part of their system for 15 years, and I was being literally kicked out, unless you adhere to our insurance—go find someone else,” she said.

The message informed her that as of 2025, her primary care doctor would only be accepting CommunityCare Senior, United Healthcare/AARP, and plain Medicare. Her provider, Aetna, among others, will no longer be accepted.

“I was just totally confused, and I was really upset,” Stephens said.

In a statement from Saint Francis, they said, “We recently notified a small group of patients who have out-of-network Medicare Advantage plans that they will need to update their coverage to stay with their Warren Clinic primary care physician.”

Stephens says she has always been in-network with Saint Francis. News On 6 asked Saint Francis to clarify, and a spokesperson says that people like her will be considered out of network come Jan. 1.

“I wish they would explain. Why is this a stepped process where we’re going to cut off primary care, and then we’re going to cut off specialists, and then we’re slowly going to— you’ll have to have a certain kind of insurance to even get into Saint Francis? Or is this just primary care? And why is it primary care?” Stephens asked.

She wanted to speak up because she believes this impacts many people who have been seeing their doctors for years. She also hopes Saint Francis will reconsider and is now contemplating moving away from Tulsa to a place with better healthcare options.