Two for-profit hospitals in Hudson County, N.J., are preparing to break in-network ties with the state's largest insurer, according to NJ.com.
CarePoint Health, the parent company for Hoboken (N.J.) UniversityMedicalCenter and Bayonne (N.J.) MedicalCenter, "has terminated its network agreements with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey," according to a statement from Horizon spokesman Tom Vincz.
Horizon BCBSNJ policy holders will pay out-of-network prices at Bayonne Medical Center and Hoboken University Medical Center beginning May 1 and June 2, respectively.
CarePoint spokesman Jarrod Bernstein confirmed the company's four-year contract with Horizon BCBSNJ is expiring, but said CarePoint hopes to reach an agreement before the spring. "We will continue to negotiate in good faith as we have done in the past and are hopeful for a successful resolution," Mr. Bernstein told NJ.com.
CarePoint's third hospital, ChristHospital in Jersey City, terminated its in-network contract with Blue Cross Blue Shield in January 2015.
CarePoint hospitals were also among those BCBS excluded from its OMNIA tiered network plans last fall.
"Horizon is hopeful CarePoint will reconsider its decision to terminate its contracts so that Horizon members can have access to affordable care at its three hospitals," said Mr. Vincz, according to the report.