Keystone Mercy’s Medicaid HMO could cut ties with Chesco Hospital : John George
By: Health Insurance
Submitted: 2009-08-28 11:30:14 | Word Count: 478
Chester County Hospital officials said Wednesday that Keystone Mercy Health Plan, the region’s largest Medicaid HMO, said it will not renew its contract with the hospital after its expires Sept. 30 unless it accepts “significantly lower” payments.
The termination notice also affects hospital-based outpatient services, its prenatal Clinic, 14 ob/gyn physicians employed by the hospital through Chester County Ob/Gyn Associates and Associates for Women's Medicine, and 11 physicians employed through its physician network.
[ advertisement ]
“This action by Keystone Mercy Health Plan could severely limit many residents from accessing quality health care,” said H.L. Perry Pepper, president of the West Chester, Pa., hospital. “Those residents at greatest risk, particularly low-income, pregnant mothers, may have to travel great distances for their care.”
Keystone Mercy is jointly owned by Independence Blue Cross in Philadelphia and Mercy Health System of Conshohocken, Pa.
Anne Morrissey, president of Pennsylvania managed care at Keystone Mercy, said the company regrets some members will be affected by the action.
"We have had a good relationship with Chester County Hospital, however, we cannot afford the commercial-based payment levels they required," she said. "State funding to Medicaid managed-care plans already trails the rate of health-care inflation, and we don’t expect it to improve with the current budget deficit facing the state."
Morrissey said Keystone Mercy members will still be able to receive services from area providers including 50 primary-care physicians and hospitals in the Main Line Health system (Paoli, Lankenau, Bryn Mawr and Riddle Memorial hospitals) along with Phoenixville and Jennersville hospitals.
Keystone Mercy plans to start notifying affected members and health-care providers of the Chester County Hospital contract termination on Aug. 27.
Perry said the hospital has provided several proposals to Keystone Mercy and was surprised to receive the termination notice. “We are already the lowest cost hospital in the county and provide excellent patient care, but Independence Blue Cross and Keystone Mercy want to force us to accept even less and we simply cannot afford it.”
Chester County Hospital has signed a new provider agreement with AmeriChoice, a medical assistance managed care plan owned by United Healthcare. The new agreement started Aug. 1 and covers the medical center, its employed ob/gyn practices, and its employed primary-care physicians.
Author Resource:-
Quoting and Saving on your health insurance has never been easier...EasyToInsureME
EasyToInsureME offers clients the easiest way to buy individual health insurance. Free services include instant online health insurance quotes, custom proposals for each client, free phone consultations, and 10-minute application by phone. Nobody does what we do for our clients!
