Mary Washington Healthcare in Fredericksburg, Va., and Cigna ended their network agreement May 30, according to The Free Lance-Star.
The change means that about 15,000 people in the Fredericksburg area with Cigna health insurance could face higher out-of-pocket costs to access Mary Washington providers and services.
Eric Fletcher, the vice president of Mary Washington, told The Free Lance-Star that Cigna has requested a 30 percent reduction in payments for hospital services. Because of losses from the pandemic and additional costs, Mr. Fletcher told the newspaper the hospital couldn't sustain the decrease.
Cigna framed the disagreement differently. Holly Fussell, a spokesperson from Cigna, told the newspaper it couldn't meet Mary Washington's "high rates and increases they are demanding from our clients and customers. They are refusing to negotiate rates that would keep health care affordable for Cigna customers."