Dr. Ray Glendrange here on behalf of Riverside Eye Specialists, the ophthalmology practice that has served the eyecare needs of our Riverside community for over 120 years. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, our very existence has been driven to the brink, leaving me to ponder early retirement. Though we’ve lobbied and crusaded for substantial Health Insurance reform, the big behemoth insurance companies and those management companies they employ (partners in crime) continue to get away with murder (literally as well as metaphorically). What’s worse is they used our good name to recruit most of the remaining good plans into their rolls, further stripping us of our ability to offer our patients ethical state-of-the-art care.

Therefore, at the risk of shooting ourselves in the foot, we decided to cut ties with the worst of the bad actors while putting the others on notice that if they want to continue to have us as their provider, they must start flying right IMMEDIATELY. We’ve removed our practice from the panels of those whose top priority is to make money at the expense of appropriate patient care & small practices’ viability. There is no long game for these money-grubbing insurers and their management companies; they fleece the golden goose while they can, massaging their profits to attract even bigger mergers that award HUGE paydays for their execs & investors. I was offered such a deal by one attempting to lure us into their fold. But we’ll NOT sell out to legitimize these egregious practices.

Fortunately, there is light for us at the end of this nightmarish tunnel. We’re now contractually slated to be an inaugural exclusive specialty provider for a new big insurance management company that’s going live the 1st of 2026. Their backing will be huge and not subject to private support, and they’ll directly compete with existing companies, forcing them by comparison to shape up or lose out. We’ve also signed contracts with the VA for seamless scheduling of our brave Veterans (for which, as a Navy Veteran with 2 sons serving as active-duty Naval Officers, I’m VERY proud) along with a great new IEHP contract among many others. So, we expect 2026 will be a banner year for Riverside Eye Specialists!

That said, with the end of our Managed Care contract as of today and the anticipated fallout from our negotiations with these bad-acting insurance companies, we anticipate our dire situation will get worse before it gets better. At the risk of upsetting my friends, patients & colleagues, I’ve decided dire circumstances require dire action; I’ve decided to pass the hat, asking for Go Fund Me donations to not only keep the doors open, but to keep key staff from being poached by bigger practices by paying them competitive wages. Though I’ll be viewed by many as shameless and even just wrong, at this point there’s not much I’d NOT consider doing to save this practice from extinction. It goes without saying NONE of any $ we collect would be used for my use. Having drained all our retirement savings along with selling our Riverside home, the gains used to bolster the practice, we’ve gotten very comfortable living the austere life in our 1-bedroom apartment near the practice. We’re not looking for any large donations; please donate only if you support our cause and have the means to do so. And please understand, we'll not keep score; nobody should feel obligated to donate, we'll not treat ANY patient differently (as I'd like to think we've always demonstrated), and of course we'll continue our code of strict confidentiality for all patients and their records. Thank you for your patience and consideration.