Seattle Children's Hospital has filed suit against Washington state's Office of the Insurance Commissioner, claiming the current exchange will keep some patients from receiving care at the hospital as the majority of the plans available on the state's health insurance exchange do not provide coverage for services at Seattle Children's.
According to an NPR report, of the eight plans currently available on Washington HealthPlanFinder, six do not consider Seattle Children's in-network. The goal of the suit is to have two insurers, Coordinated Care and Molina, initially rejected by the insurance commissioner because of unfair provider contracts but allowed on the exchanges last month, to be removed from Washington HealthPlanFinder, according to the report.
"Every child should have access to essential healthcare and the intent of the new exchange is to make it available to all families," said Thomas Hansen, MD, CEO of Seattle Children's, in a hospital news release. "However, we are very concerned about the limited networks being offered by some exchange insurance plans. Omitting coverage for care at a facility like Children's prevents families from accessing vital services they may desperately need."
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