Providence tells striking nurses they will lose health insurance on Feb. 28

Providence Health & Services in Oregon warned striking nurses Thursday that their health insurance will expire at the end of the month if their walkout continues.

The strike, which began Jan. 10, has now lasted 36 days and involves nearly 5,000 nurses at all eight Providence hospitals across the state.

Hospitals affected include Portland’s St. Vincent Medical Center, Providence Portland Medical Center, and locations in Hood River, Medford, Milwaukie, Newberg, Seaside, and Oregon City.

In an email to striking workers Thursday, Providence wrote that “given the extended timeline of the strike, health care benefits will lapse for striking caregivers as of Feb. 28.”

The notice comes nearly a week after striking nurses rejected a tentative agreement reached between the health system and their labor union, the Oregon Nurses Association.

The ill-fated agreement included wage increases, a penalty payment for missed meals and breaks, and provisions aligning with a state hospital staffing law. It also offered a ratification bonus based on hours worked since the previous contract expired rather than retroactive pay raises.

“Since the beginning of the strike, Providence and ONA have been clear that health care benefits for striking caregivers would not continue indefinitely,” the Catholic not-for-profit hospital system stated.

Providence said striking nurses who return to work before the end of the month will keep their benefits. The hospital chain said strikers can pay out of their own pocket to continue their coverage.

“This callous action underscores Providence’s prioritization of profits over the well-being of caregivers and the patients they serve,” the nurses union said in response to Providence’s warning. “Rather than punishing nurses and jeopardizing lives, Providence executives - who earn millions in salaries - should focus on settling a fair contract.”

Providence, however, said that the union has been aware of the possibility that members would lose health insurance if they were still on strike at the end of February.

The two sides have yet to resume meetings to negotiate new proposals.

Nurses had argued that last week’s deal failed to adequately address chronic understaffing, patient safety concerns and demands for fair wages and benefits. Nurses also raised frustrations over their health benefits, citing difficulties accessing regular providers after Providence switched to Aetna for employee health plans this year.

Meanwhile, the group of 70 striking hospitalists and palliative care doctors at St. Vincent Medical Center approved their first ever labor agreement with Providence. But they’ve remained on the picket line since a provision in their labor contract stipulates that they can’t return to work until the striking nurses from the same hospital ratify their agreement.

Those hospitalists and doctors could also lose their benefits if they don’t return to work before the end of the month, according to Providence.

Eighty workers at Providence’s six Portland-area women’s clinics who went on strike were the first to return to work after ratifying their first labor agreement with the health system.

— Kristine de Leon covers consumer health, retail, small business and data enterprise stories. Reach her at kdeleon@oregonian.com.

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