Extending grace period is a hospitable decision
River Park’s decision to treat its Blue Cross Blue Shield patients for another month without leveling out-of-network charges deserves to be commended.
It’s purely a short-term fix and one which will be over at the end of February, but it’s a move which shows the hospital is dedicated to providing the best available health care to this community at the most affordable price.
By now, most of us are familiar with the dispute. HCA, which is River Park’s parent company, can’t agree on a new contract with Blue Cross Blue Shield. That’s particularly troublesome since the old contract expired Dec. 31.
Since the two companies no longer have a valid contract, that means Blue Cross patients would be forced to pay out-of-network charges when visiting an HCA facility. In Warren County, that facility is River Park.
What compounds the problem even more is a vast number of Warren County residents depend on Blue Cross insurance to help with their medical expenses. Employees with the school system, Bridgestone, Calsonic and A.O. Smith, to name a few, have Blue Cross as their insurance provider. It’s enough customers to comprise roughly 60 to 70 percent of River Park’s commercial business.
That’s why a contract settlement is so vital. A community this size deserves a top-notch facility such as River Park. And River Park needs its Blue Cross patients in order to prosper and bring in more improved technology.
Extending the grace period for another month had to be a difficult financial decision and there’s no way for this newspaper to accurately estimate how much the hospital stands to lose.
River Park, and CEO Steve Otto, are in fact going out on a limb. As of yesterday, River Park was the only hospital to extend the grace period to its customers for another month. All 11 of the hospitals in HCA’s TriStar network had extended the grace period to the last day of January, which is today.
Otto is in the middle of a rocky predicament. On one side, he has to follow the company line and stand behind HCA in its battle with Blue Cross. On the other side, Otto realizes the importance of an amiable relationship with Blue Cross patients.
The decision to extend the grace period by one month buys more time, but we all know it’s not the answer. February will be here tomorrow and it will be gone before we know it. Then Warren countians with Blue Cross insurance will be faced with some tough health care decisions. It’s hard to imagine many will be willing to pay up to 40 percent more in out-of-network charges to patronize River Park.
This is a nasty disagreement HCA and Blue Cross need to settle. It will benefit both sides and be a tremendous relief for thousands of Warren County residents.