Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi plans to reinstate its contracts with four of the 10 state hospitals owned by Naples, Fla.-based Health Management Associates, according to a report from The Clarion-Ledger.
Health Management hasn't acted on the offer and questioned in an email to The Clarion-Ledger why Blue Cross wasn't looking to reinstate all 10 hospitals, according to the report. The four
The 10 hospitals all sued the insurer in June, claiming the payer has been underpaying them by millions for certain inpatient procedures. In July, the insurer sent a termination notice to Health Management informing the company that it intended to ax its contracts with the
Even though BCBS has ended its contracts with the hospitals, Health Management has continued to charge patients covered by the insurer in-network rates, although it may not be able to do so for very long due to financial strain.
During a legislative hearing last month, Health Management claimed BCBS monopolizes the state's healthcare market and is pushing the hospitals to accept lower payments. BCBS testified that Health Management hospitals overcharge for services, and the possible closures are because of the company's in-progress acquisition by Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems rather than the BCBS contract.
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