Physicians who fail to obtain the agreements will not be able to contract with the insurer. Regional has said it prefers physicians maintain hospital privileges, but many primary care providers began dropping them after the advent of the hospitalist program in 2004.
According to the report, nearly all of the area’s primary care providers have dropped hospital privileges or plan to do so, which taxes the hospital’s 18-physician hospitalist program.
A representative for BCBS said the move is intended to better coordinate care, but others suggest that the move was made to appease the hospital during its negotiations with BCBS.
Read the Rapid City Journal’s report on BCBS of Michigan.
Read more about Michigan hospitals.
– Michigan Hospital Replacing Most of its LPNs With RNs
– University of Michigan Study Suggests Recession Could Threaten Hospital Quality
At Becker's 4th Annual CEO + CFO Roundtable, taking place November 2–5 in Chicago, more than 1,500 hospital and health system executives tackle decisions that determine whether organizations thrive or merely survive: protecting margins under cost pressure, choosing where to grow, renegotiating payer relationships, stabilizing the workforce and proving real ROI on technology. This is where leaders work through them together, face-to-face. Apply for complimentary registration now.
