Without a new Florida Blue contract, NCH may leave network.
Florida Blue has notified consumers in the state’s second area that they may lose coverage on October 1 owing to a stalemate with a major health system.
If a new insurer-hospital arrangement cannot be negotiated, Florida Blue will notify patients that the Naples-based NCH will be out of network. This would encompass hospitals, physician groups, and other specialist care services, according to a recent article by Cary Barbor of Health News Florida.
According to Jacksonville Today, Florida Blue notified Baptist Health patients in Northeast Florida a week ago that their coverage will be terminated for the same reason.
Both agreements expire on September 30. Florida law compels Florida Blue to inform patients about what will happen if no agreement is reached.
In a statement, Florida Blue stated, in part:
“We are currently in negotiations and doing everything we can to reach an agreement with NCH to avoid health care disruption for our members and keep the area’s healthcare as affordable as possible.” NCH continues to seek excessive prices without a commitment to improving treatment efficiency, resulting in increasing costs for persons in the community, many of whom are already struggling financially.”
NCH did not reply to a request for comments.
However, NCH stated on its website that Florida Blue, a Blue Cross Blue Shield licensee, “significantly underpays NCH when compared to other hospitals and providers” in Southwest Florida.
The hospital system also stated that without a fair agreement, “Florida Blue threatens the ability for patients and families to have local access to essential and critical care”.
Baptist Health has a page on its website that discusses the negotiations from their side. It accuses Florida Blue of making misleading claims in its mail to patients.
Florida Blue also created a web page about the Baptist Health problem. The insurer’s officials accused Baptist Health of failing to negotiate in good faith.
This article originally appeared on Health News Florida