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DANVILLE — With one current knee substitute surgical procedure behind her and the opposite knee substitute developing early subsequent 12 months, retired Danville trainer Doni Duckett is in a bind.
Her orthopedic surgeon is at Carle Well being, and for her and different state retirees, uncertainty stays about whether or not their future care at Carle shall be coated below the brand new well being plan the state has contracted with, an Aetna Medicare Benefit PPO.
The Aetna plan shall be provided to retirees statewide as their solely state-sponsored possibility, and Carle at present lacks a contract with the brand new Aetna Medicare Benefit plan.
In the meantime, enrollment for the 2023 well being plan 12 months for state retirees is about to start Nov. 1.
With out figuring out which docs will settle for the Aetna plan, Duckett stated, “it’s type of like making an attempt to bake a cake with out an oven.”
Duckett, who taught college in Danville for 38 years and retired in 2010, had her first knee substitute surgical procedure Sept. 19, and remains to be recovering. She has to attend three to 4 months earlier than she will be able to have the second knee substitute she wants, and needs to have that second surgical procedure with the identical Carle physician, she stated.
The state of affairs she and different retirees are in is disturbing, Duckett stated.
“We’re simply holding our breath,” she stated.
Carle Well being officers stated they’d no replace Friday on whether or not Carle will come to phrases with Aetna on a contract, however they did launch this assertion:
“Carle values and appreciates the many individuals who belief us with their well being care wants and stays steadfast in its dedication to bettering well being by offering extremely accessible care and repair. Sadly, we don’t have something new to share at this level, however we’re nonetheless in negotiations.”
Given how quickly enrollment is approaching and the lack of knowledge about suppliers, Duckett stated, she and a few fellow retired academics in Danville plan to satisfy quickly to discover different attainable choices for well being protection that may permit her to maintain her major care physician at Christie Clinic and her orthopedic surgeon at Carle.
Illinois Central Administration Providers spokeswoman Cathy Kwiatkowski stated there shall be a number of in-person and digital data classes on the brand new Aetna well being plan starting on the finish of this month.
When dates and places for these classes can be found, they’ll be posted on the CMS Complete Retiree Benefit Illinois program web site, she stated.
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