There are moments in life when the world seems split in two.
There is life before the diagnosis.
And life after.
For a 50-year-old high school teacher and Premera member from Kodiak, Alaska, that moment arrived in the form of two words: metastatic cancer.
Only days before, he had been thinking about lesson plans, his students, and finishing the school year. Now, all that was secondary as he found himself making the heartbreaking decision to retire early and preparing to travel more than 2500 miles from home for specialized care at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle.
Traveling for care creates challenges
Neither the member nor his wife had ever navigated the healthcare system at this level of complexity before. Suddenly they were trying to understand medical terms they had never heard, coordinate travel and lodging logistics, understand parts of their health plan they had never needed previously, and prepare for appointments that would have been unimaginable just weeks prior.
Before they ever boarded the plane, a Premera case manager called. The conversation wasn’t just about costs or coverage.
It was about what would happen when they landed. Where would they stay? What would the first appointment be like? Who was going to help them understand what came next?
Their case manager worked behind the scenes to coordinate lodging benefits, connect with teams at both Premera and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, and send information that helped to make a stressful journey a little less overwhelming.
But what happened next is what the family remembers most. When they arrived for that first appointment, their Premera case manager met them in the lobby.
She greeted them by name, walked beside them through the cancer center, pointed out where they needed to go, answered questions along the way, and helped them get their bearings.
It was a small gesture, but during a time of uncertainty, it meant they didn’t have to take those first steps alone. And as the member’s treatment continued, so did the support.
Ongoing healthcare concerns get ongoing support from Premera
The case manager helped coordinate ongoing travel between Alaska and Seattle and arranged lodging support when unexpected circumstances extended their stays. They helped the family complete paperwork so the member’s wife could speak on his behalf and connected them with services and resources that could support them.
When retirement changed the family’s health insurance, their case manager was still there to ensure the transition was as seamless as possible, helping them understand their new coverage and preparing them for conversations with their new health plan.
Eventually, the member’s care team was established. New travel plans were in place. The family knew who to call and where to turn.
It was time to close the case. But before saying goodbye, the case manager called one last time to make sure everything was in order.
“I’m so sad to lose you,” the member’s wife told her Premera case manager. “There have been so many times I was telling people about you. How you met us for the first visit and walked us through each step. It’s the strangest, most wonderful thing! I’ve never had anything like this before with an insurance company. I want you to know that what you do really makes a difference.”
Steady support when your life is changing
Premera’s team of dedicated case managers can’t change the reality that a serious healthcare diagnosis like cancer impacts the lives of the people we serve in ways great and small.
But they do make sure that when our members step into one of the hardest chapters of their lives, they don’t have to take that step alone. It’s one of numerous benefits our plans offer to ensure our members get the care they need for every health issue they encounter, and one of many features that makes your Premera plan more than just a card you present at your doctor’s office.
To understand what your Premera plan offers and how you can make the most of every available benefit, create an account or sign into your existing one today.
