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When a natural disaster strikes, Regence is here to support your care needs
Act
immediately
Effective date
Dec 10, 2025
Identified
Dec 13, 2025
Summary
Regence has implemented emergency pharmacy access policies for members affected by flooding in declared disaster areas. During officially declared emergencies, members may refill prescriptions at any pharmacy (waiving network restrictions) and receive emergency care at in-network rates. This is a temporary, disaster-response policy effective immediately for affected regions.
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What to do
immediately · 9 steps
01Billing team must update claim processing rules to recognize officially declared natural disaster states in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.
02When processing claims during declared emergencies.
03Accept out-of-network pharmacy claims without prior authorization denial.
04Process emergency hospital visits at in-network rates regardless of facility network status.
05Do not apply refill restrictions or quantity limits for prescription refills during emergency periods.
06Update denial logic in billing software to suppress network-based rejections when emergency declaration code is present.
07Train billing staff to verify emergency declaration status before denying pharmacy or emergency department claims.
08No claims should be denied solely for out-of-network pharmacy usage or emergency facility selection during declared disasters.
09This policy applies only during officially declared emergencies and must be manually tracked/flagged per claim.
Original notice
When a natural disaster strikes, Regence is here to support your care needs
news.regence.com · Always check the source before changing claims.