Contract talks have stalled ahead of a deadline that would leave many WMC sites out of Empire’s network. As a result, Empire members could face higher out-of-pocket costs to access services at the health system.
In a statement to the Rockland/Westchester Journal News, an Empire spokesperson said, “We believe hospitals and doctors should be compensated fairly, and this is reflected in the terms we offer to providers to participate in our networks. However, we cannot agree to [WMC’s] demands of a 30 percent increase over the next three years. That’s because these excessive costs increases would be paid for directly by our consumers, the majority of whom are covered by self-funded plans that pay for medical costs directly.”
WMC disagreed with Empire’s characterization of the feud.
“Throughout our negotiations, our overall proposals never amounted to an increase of 30 percent, as [Empire] is falsely claiming,” WMCHealth officials told the newspaper. “In fact, the totality of their current proposal is a potential reduction in the overall existing [Empire] rates.”
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