St. E’s out of network for Blue Cross Blue Shield as contract expires
Posted by: Channel 8 Newsroom
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) _ A contract between Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska and Catholic Health Initiatives’ UniNet has expired, and officials say no negotiations have been scheduled.
UniNet represents CHI Health facilities across Nebraska. The contract expired Monday, so people who visit doctors or hospitals in Nebraska associated with the CHI Health network will have to pay more if they have insurance from Blue Cross. That includes St. Elizabeth’s here in Lincoln.
Blue Cross says CHI hospitals and physicians in Omaha are charging too much for their services. It’s about 20 to 30 percent more than their competitors. CHI offered to cut prices at Omaha hospitals by 1 percent and physician prices by 2 percent, but Blue Cross rejected the offer. It wasn’t enough for them.
“That’s really what our goal was to try find some middle ground, get prices back on track, get close to where the rest of the market is in Omaha. And we just didn’t see that,” Lee Handke, senior vice president of Blue Cross Blue Shield said.
CHI says the contract termination will greatly impact the entire of Nebraska.
Patients who require consistent medical treatment like chemotherapy, HIV medication and pregnant women in their second or third trimester will still be in-network. Meaning they won’t see higher costs.
Blue Cross will continue to negotiate with CHI.
