Blue Cross, HCA settle dispute over hospital charges

The new contract, which starts April 1 and ends Sept. 30, 2006, includes BlueCross Blue Networks P and C statewide, plus Blue Network S in Chattanooga and Jasper.

Details of the agreement were not released.

The previous contract between BlueCross BlueShield and HCA’s TriStar Health System expired when they couldn’t agree on rates. The two sides had been in dispute for more than 14 months.

“We have reached a solution that works for both parties,” said Paul Rutledge, president of TriStar Health System.

Vicky Gregg, president and chief executive officer of BlueCross BlueShield, said the contract “provides better accessibility for our members who live in areas in which a TriStar hospital operates.”

The affected hospitals are Centennial Medical Center, Skyline Medical Center, Southern Hills Medical Center Summit Medical Center and Women’s Hospital at Centennial in Nashville; Parkridge Medical Center and Parkridge East Hospital in Chattanooga; Centennial Medical Center in Ashland City; Grandview Medical Center at Jasper; Horizon Medical Center at Dickson; River Park Hospital in McMinnville; and StoneCrest Medical Center in Smyrna.

Blue Cross Vice President Ron Harr previously said the rift affected nonemergency benefits for about 200,000 of the insurer’s customers.

Blue Cross has about 1.8 million commercial customers in Tennessee.
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On the Net:
Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Tennessee: http://www.bcbst.com/
HCA: http://www.hcahealthcare.com