HMA Still Treating Mississippi Blue Cross Patients as In-Network

Mississippi hospitals owned by Naples, Fla.-based Health Management Associates will continue to charge patients covered by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi the same rates, even though BCBS has ended its contracts with the 10 hospitals, according to a Mississippi Business Journal report.

The Health Management hospitals all sued BCBS 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 Mississippi hospitals.

Health Management may not be able to treat BCBS patients as in-network for a prolonged period of time, given that it will strain the hospital chain's finances, company spokeswoman Kace Ragan told the Journal. She said care levels won't go down, although there could be service cutbacks, according to the report.

Ms. Ragan told the Journal Health Management sent BCBS a written offer last week to back off the lawsuit for 60 days if the insurer extends the contract for an equivalent amount of time.  BCBS has not responded, according to the report.

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