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Employer's ad asks doctors to help
By COLLEEN JENKINS CRYSTAL RIVER -- At a time when rising insurance premiums are forcing companies to switch to less expensive health care plans, one local business manager has taken a very public stance on behalf of her employees. In a half-page advertisement published Tuesday in the Citrus County Chronicle, the general manager of the Plantation Inn & Golf Resort in Crystal River pleaded for doctors countywide to sign on with Unicare, her parent company's recently acquired health insurance carrier. If the doctors don't join the Unicare network, Shay Baranowski said, the resort's more than 165 employees and their families effectively would lose coverage with many of their favorite medical providers. Twenty-six doctors were named in the ad. "I find that my employees have gone from having a wide selection of doctors to a very small selection indeed," stated the letter-style ad, addressed to "members of the medical community" and signed by Baranowski. "I am beseeching the medical community to assist us in widening the choices my staff has," she wrote. "Many of my employees have been here for over 15 and 20 years, and many of them have had the same physician since their inception and risk losing that physician that has, in some cases, treated over four generations of their families. "My employees are very important to me, and I hope they are important to you." During a phone interview, Baranowski said Dallas-based Prism/REMIC Hotels, which owns and operates the resort, chose Unicare as its new medical insurer in January. The nationwide health insurance company has a qualified but limited network of doctors in Citrus County, she said. For instance, the network includes only one local gynecologist, she said. When enough employees told her their longtime doctors weren't part of Unicare's local network, she felt compelled to grab the Citrus County medical community's attention. But she had to act fast: The new plan takes effect Saturday. "It seemed like the right thing to do," she said of her campaign. "I'm hoping this will be an extra push without putting them on the spot. I'm hoping they went, "Wow, they love me.' " The results of her unusual approach haven't materialized as quickly. A reporter's random survey of doctor reactions to the ad elicited a typical response: most didn't see it. But one office manager said it wasn't the first personal request she's received in recent months. Natera Alvarez said three or four letters have arrived in the Genesis Women's Center's mailbox in Inverness, all asking doctors there to sign up with various insurance companies. "People are having to switch providers because the insurance rates have gone up so much," Alvarez said. "If we're familiar with the insurance company, we may not participate with them due to problems with their reimbursement schedule." Dr. Steven A. Roth, an obstetrician-gynecologist at the women's center, didn't see his name in print, Alvarez said. But Alvarez and several other office managers did request more information from Unicare after being personally contacted by Baranowski. One deciding factor for area doctors is whether the county's hospitals are on board with the insurance company, Alvarez said. Neither Citrus Memorial Hospital nor Seven Rivers Community Hospital has a contract with Unicare yet, according to hospital spokeswomen. But both hospitals do have contracts with Private Healthcare Systems, which has had a presence in Citrus County for a couple of years. Unicare has partnered with PHCS and will employ its network of providers for Citrus County clients, spokeswomen from each company said Thursday. That means doctors who accept PHCS also will accept Unicare, said PHCS marketing specialist Christine Martiny from Massachusetts. Both companies' names will appear on insurance cards. No one could say Wednesday or Thursday how many doctors are part of PHCS's network, but Martiny said the company is always recruiting new providers. "We definitely have a number of providers in that area," she said. "We really pride ourselves in trying to provide as much coverage as possible. If someone believes there's a gap, we're always trying to make sure those needs are being met." In the meantime, Baranowski and resort employees were encouraged by calls this week from doctors' offices intending to find out more about the insurance company. They hope their public appeal will retain what Baranowski's ad called employees' most important benefits: "continuity in treatment, great service and a caring doctor." -- Colleen Jenkins can be reached at 860-7303 or cjenkins@sptimes.com.
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