Citing market uncertainty, Regence BlueCross BlueShield and its affiliate Bridgespan Health Co. sent letters this week to inform customers they will be pulling out of the individual health care market in 15 counties in 2018, and they'll have to find another option.

Discontinuation letters went out to some 18,450 customers, about two-thirds of the individual customers insured by both carriers in Oregon. Nearly 6,000 of them live in the Portland area, but Regence said Friday that it is working with Oregon Health & Science University, Adventist Health and Tuality Healthcare to develop new individual offerings for customers in Washington, Multnomah and Clackamas counties.

The remaining 12,500 customers reside in Benton, Clatsop, Columbia, Coos, Curry, Deschutes, Douglas, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath, Lake Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Marion, Polk, Tillamook or Yamhill County.

"We understand the disruption this change may cause; we did not take this decision lightly," the Regence letter said. "The individual market continues to be unsettled nationwide, and Oregon is no exception. We are taking this action now, and we will continue to advocate for stability in the markets in hopes of better serving Oregon long-term."

Individual customers' current coverage will remain in effect through the end of the year, so no action is needed until open enrollment begins again in November. The filing does not affect the company's Medicare customers or those who buy insurance through their employers.

Regence spokesman Jared Ishkanian said the new network in the Portland area should offer a comparably sized group of in-network local providers to what's offered today with some additional out-of-network restrictions. Bridgespan would offer a plan on the exchange, healthcare.gov, where customers can access government subsidies, and Regence would offer a plan off the exchange. Because those plans would be new, the company was required to issue discontinuation notices.

"We'll be communicating with these members in the coming weeks to help them navigate their care options in 2018," Ishkanian said.

There are 18,457 clients with Regence BlueCross BlueShield individual plans in Oregon and another 8,843 with Bridgespan. In 2017, they accounted for about 13 percent of individual plan enrollment in the state, according to figures from Oregon's Division of Consumers and Business Services.

"Portland does have quite a bit of competition, so there are other choices in that market," said Lisa Morawski, a spokeswoman for Oregon's Department of Consumer and Business Services.

- Ted Sickinger

50-3-221-8505; @tedsickinger