Dr. Marta Kazymyra and her husband Dr. David Allan have further postponed their planned retirement, while insurance company Premera Blue Cross undertakes a national search for new providers to take over their practice.
The couple has agreed to stay for another three months, until the end of June, while Premera Blue Cross retains a national recruiting firm to search for new physicians to replace them at Bay Medical Clinic, the Blaine practice they opened almost forty years ago.
If new providers cannot be found by then, there is the option of extending for an additional three months until the end of September, although Dr. Kazymyra remains hopeful that new providers will be found before then.
“We said we would be willing to stay if Premera Blue Cross would do recruiting,” said Dr. Kazymyra. “They have now been given permission to pay for a national recruiting firm, so things are moving ahead.”
Dr. Kazymyra added that she is willing to do what it takes to stay open and ensure a smooth transition. “We feel our patients need somewhere to go, because our patients and staff are like family,” she said.
Initially, the couple planned to keep Bay Medical Clinic open until the end of December.
They later postponed this to the end of March 2019, since the clinic’s closure could result in the loss of medical care for an estimated 3,000 patients and jobs for six full-time staff members.
Both Kazymyra and Allan are still accepting new patients on a limited basis.
“Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate new DSHS and state plan insurance at this time,” said Kazymyra.
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