San Francisco-based Dignity Health's Arizona hospitals are no longer in Woodland Hills, Calif.-based Health Net's network following unresolved disputes about reimbursement rates, according to The Arizona Republic.
Dignity Health could not reach a contract resolution with Health Net before its three-year agreement expired Saturday. As a result, roughly 5,000 patients lost in-network, discounted access to Dignity's Phoenix-based St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Chandler (Ariz.) Regional Medical Center and Mercy (Ariz.) Gilbert Medical Center. The termination also affects Dignity's clinics and physicians in Arizona.
A Dignity spokesperson told The Arizona Republic to "continue its mission of delivering excellent, compassionate care to patients, Dignity Health must obtain reasonable compensation from insurance companies."
Health Net spokesperson Monica Coury told the publication it will contact "all members, particularly those who are currently receiving services from one of the impacted Dignity providers" and "arrangements will be made to ensure continuity of care for all of those members currently inpatient or in the middle of a course of treatment."
Dignity added affected Health Net patients currently in a hospital should be allowed to stay until their treatment is finished, according to the report.
Editor's note: This article was updated to reflect the contract expiration affects Health Net's Arizona members only. We regret this error.