CHI Franciscan offering a financial break in care to federal workers missing paychecks
Last week it was area credit unions offering special loan terms. Now there’s a medical break for South Sound area federal workers and their families affected by the partial government shutdown.
Tacoma-based CHI Franciscan announced Monday that it was waiving all co-pays and deductibles for emergency care, urgent care and its outpatient primary and specialty clinics for those federal workers and their families heading into a second pay cycle without a paycheck.
The action is in response to the longest U.S. federal shutdown in history.
The program went into effect Monday (Jan. 21) at its 11 acute care hospitals, 200-plus primary clinics, and seven CityMD locations.
To participate, federal employees should bring their federally-issued I.D. and will need to sign an attestation form saying they or their dependents are affected by the furlough, the health system reported.
“There are thousands of individuals in our region who are affected by the federal government shutdown who are not only experiencing employment uncertainty but could be avoiding needed medical care because of financial hardship,” CHI Franciscan CEO Ketul Patel said in a statement.
“We don’t want the shutdown to be a barrier for people and their families to access the care they need.”
