Wednesday, July 17, 2013
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Mississippi has told the state's second-largest hospital owner that it will end its contract with the company's 10 Mississippi hospitals at the end of August.
The insurer sent the notice of termination to the Health Management Associates hospitals statewide on June 25. That was a week after Florida-based HMA sued Blue Cross for $13 million, claiming the Flowood, Miss., insurer is breaking contract terms.
At the same time, Jackson's University of Mississippi Medical Center and Blue Cross continue talks over payment rates, with the chance that the insurer will no longer contract for treatment at the state's largest hospital.
If Blue Cross no longer has contracts, hospitals would be reimbursed at lower out-of-network rates, meaning individual patients could face much higher out-of-pocket costs.
Comments
js1976 10 years, 9 months ago
This would not be good news for many residents within our state, considering the large number of residents covered by BCBS plans. That would mean metro area residents would the be covered out of network for our only hospital with a trauma center if they sever ties with UMC.
I fear we are about to take two steps back in our fight to increase the access to affordable healthcare in this country. Individual health care plans are about to skyrocket, and large portions of the state will not be able to use the exchange. My objections to the AHCA will now become a major "I told you so" that I was hoping I wouldn't be able to say.
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