Moses Cone and Blue Cross: status quo
As readers of the N&R know, Moses Cone Health System and insurer Blue Cross and Blue Shield are in a dispute over the reimbursement rates Cone is seeking and Blue Cross is willing to pay. Cone has canceled its contract with Blue Cross, effective Nov. 1. Blue Cross has refused to negotiate while the cancellation is in effect.
On Sept. 14, Cone President and CEO Tim Rice sent an e-mail to staff physicians, one of whom has passed it along to me. It basically says that the stalemate continues; I pass it on for whatever it might be worth. (The revised offer by Cone mentioned in the e-mail was touched on in my Sept. 9 article, now behind our pay firewall, on the dispute.)
I'm writing today to provide you with an update on our contract issue with Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina. There has been a lot of media coverage on this issue, and I want to be sure you have the most current information.Despite our best efforts, Blue Cross continues to refuse to negotiate, and we are no closer to reaching contract resolution today than when I wrote to you several weeks ago. It's hard to understand why Blue Cross refuses to even talk to us. It seems as if they are digging in their heels no matter how important this is to the community.
To help end this impasse, last week Moses Cone provided Blue Cross with a new contract proposal. A proposal that links some of our reimbursement to quality measures Moses Cone hospitals must meet. We only get paid if we deliver quality, and we know we will. Unfortunately BCBS refuses to discuss this proposal with us. In fact, they refuse to continue negotiations until we remove the November 1st deadline.
Rather than working to reach agreement before November 1st, Blue Cross has decided to use its resources to inform the residents of Greensboro and the surrounding areas that they would be best served by seeking a new doctor in another town, and to travel to another town to receive hospital services. This is causing a great deal of unnecessary unrest and angst for the residents of our community.
Access to Moses Cone is critical to people in our community, and we are willing to tie a portion of our reimbursement to quality measures so we can get a deal done. This will ensure that our patients can have full confidence they will have access to Moses Cone, and we will get the reimbursement we need to continue to support quality care and quality staff at our hospitals.
Moses Cone has a long history of providing the highest quality care to our patients, and we have every bit of confidence that we will meet these quality measures. The hard work of our physicians and hospital staff has helped us to achieve the high level of care we provide now, and we are confident that we will continue to work together to meet our goals. Blue Cross should be willing to pay for quality, unless they are just trying to keep our reimbursements low to make a point.
Our patients are our number one priority, and we are doing everything we can to ensure that every single person who wants access to Moses Cone can do so without penalty from Blue Cross. We will be sure to keep you updated as we await a response from Blue Cross. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to call me directly at (336) 832-9500 if you have any questions. We appreciate your support.
Sincerely,
Tim Rice
President and Chief Executive Officer