Beaumont Health System, based in Royal Oak, Mich., has turned to its patients to help resolve the negotiation gridlock between the health system and health insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan's Blue Care Network, according to a Royal Oak Daily Tribune report.
Beaumont took out several full-page ads in newspapers asking patients to call BCBS of Michigan to fix the issues that stand in the way of a new contract, according to the report. Blue Care Network is the HMO plan of BCBS of Michigan, and roughly 60,000 policyholders see physicians who work mostly out of Beaumont.
Beaumont said it planned to stop accepting Blue Care Network two weeks ago. The health system argued it is being underpaid by 20 percent compared with other hospitals in the region, and BCBS of Michigan said it has never left the bargaining table — and that higher rates would have to be tied to performance standards.
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Beaumont took out several full-page ads in newspapers asking patients to call BCBS of Michigan to fix the issues that stand in the way of a new contract, according to the report. Blue Care Network is the HMO plan of BCBS of Michigan, and roughly 60,000 policyholders see physicians who work mostly out of Beaumont.
Beaumont said it planned to stop accepting Blue Care Network two weeks ago. The health system argued it is being underpaid by 20 percent compared with other hospitals in the region, and BCBS of Michigan said it has never left the bargaining table — and that higher rates would have to be tied to performance standards.
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