- The extension to June 1 for the insurer’s Blue Choice Preferred Provider Program means both parties will continue to talk, Blue Cross Blue Shield spokesman James Campbell said.
- Christus Good Shepherd is the largest employer in Longview with an estimated 2,529 employees, according to data from the Longview Economic Development Corp.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas has agreed to extend by a month its deadline to resolve a dispute over reimbursing patients of Christus Good Shepherd Health System for care.
The extension to June 1 for the insurer’s Blue Choice Preferred Provider Program means both parties will continue to talk, Blue Cross Blue Shield spokesman James Campbell said. The original deadline was May 1.
“We are still at the table exchanging proposals,” said Campbell, who is based in Houston. “We are making progress.”
Referring to Christus Good Shepherd, Campbell said, “We think they are an important client,” adding Blue Cross Blue Shield does not want to inconvenience its policyholders.
William Knous, who is Campbell’s counterpart at Christus Good Shepherd, said in a statement, “Christus Good Shepherd accepts Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, and we fully intend to continue, just as we have done for decades. We are in negotiations with BCBSTX with a deadline of June 1; due to confidentiality requirements, we are unable to discuss details of ongoing negotiations.”
The dispute between Christus Good Shepherd and Blue Cross Blue Shield came to the fore in December when hospital officials took their fight for profitability to insurance companies, with plans to renegotiate with several of them.
A Blue Cross Blue Shield representative said that as of Sept. 1, Christus Good Shepherd “consolidated the contracts of its Longview and Marshall hospitals.”
That action resulted in Christus Good Shepherd Medical Center-Longview stopping its participation in the Blue Essentials HMOSM provider network.
Besides removing a hospital from its health maintenance organization network, Blue Cross Blue Shield expressed concerns that it would lead to higher costs for its members.
The company has about 34,000 members in Gregg and Harrison counties, with the bulk of them in Gregg County.
Blue Cross Blue Shield said in a December statement, “To protect our members, we recently let Good Shepherd know of our intent to terminate its participation in our Blue Choice PPO network effective May 1, 2018. However, we remain hopeful that we can reach an agreement with Good Shepherd in the future because it is an important provider in the Longview and Marshall communities.”
Campbell said he was unable to provide a figure on how many of its policyholders have the PPO plan. PPOs costs more than HMOs, but pay at a higher level of coverage and offer its members more choices of doctors than if they were to subscribe to an HMO.
The Good Shepherd Health System merged in February 2017 with Christus Health of Irving, and remains a nonprofit entity.
Christus Good Shepherd is the largest employer in Longview with an estimated 2,529 employees, according to data from the Longview Economic Development Corp.
Date: March 26, 2018