by JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The deadline for Florida Blue and Baptist Health to agree to a new contract agreement is fast approaching.
The parties are still in contract negotiations, and if they cannot agree to an agreement by Oct. 1, Baptist Health will be considered out-of-network for approximately 600,000 Florida Blue customers across the region.
RELATED | 600,000 Florida Blue customers could be affected if a new insurance contract with Baptist Health cannot be reached
Baptist Health released an update Friday on its ongoing battle with the insurance company.
According to Baptist Health, Florida Blue has “made it clear” that it is not interested in negotiations, but has “requested a 30-day extension of the current contract.”
Baptist Health claims they have taken on too many costs as staff shortages, record inflation and rising costs of drugs and supplies all play a role.
“While we see no wisdom in an extension given Florida Blue’s refusal to compromise, we remain willing to negotiate a fair agreement at any time, on any day, within the original deadline,” the hospital said in a statement. declaration.
Read Baptist Health’s full statement below:
Over the past eight months, Baptist Health has consistently engaged in good faith negotiations with Florida Blue. With just a few days to go before our current contract expires at midnight on September 30, we expected a reasonable response to our most recent offer. Instead, Florida Blue made it clear today that they are done negotiating, but in the next breath requested a 30-day extension of our current contract. We see no wisdom in an extension given Florida Blue’s refusal to compromise, yet we remain willing to negotiate a fair agreement at any time, on any day, within the original deadline. We seek an agreement that ensures we can continue to provide the essential services our community depends on, now and into the future.
Baptist Health
Florida Blue refuted Baptist Health’s latest statement, saying the reason for the 30-day extension was to continue negotiating the contract.
The health insurer said the latest offer it received from Baptist Health represents a 58% rate increase over the next five years, with annual increases averaging nearly 10%.
Florida Blue said patients will face financial consequences if they agree to Baptist’s proposal.
“We have also offered to continue meeting with Baptist Health this weekend to reach a resolution,” the insurer said in a statement Friday evening.
The hospital declined both offers, according to Florida Blue.
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Florida Blue also provided the following updates on the contractual negotiations.
The insurer said it asked for a separate agreement for Wolfson Children’s Hospital, but Baptist Health continued to stand by its “$1 billion demand” and declined the offer that Florida Blue said was “exceptionally generous and would not include reimbursement for the would significantly increase care provided at Wolfson. .”
Florida Blue said the hospital also made its “demands at a time when 91% of Jacksonville residents are concerned about rising health care costs,” according to a new Harris Poll survey.
The insurer also specified certain negotiating tactics that it believed would put Wolfson physicians and providers in an “impossible position” of choosing to travel with patients who would no longer be able to receive local elective care under the proposed contract from Baptist Health, or to refuse to provide them with care. , according to Florida Blue.
If members have questions about these potential network changes, they can call the number on the back of their membership card or visit a Florida Blue center in person for assistance.
For more information about what other major insurers Baptist Health accepts, click here.
Patients can also find answers to their questions at baptistjax.com/florida-blue and at floridablue.com/negotiation/baptisthealthjax.
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