The healthcare law's health insurance exchanges still have a lot of unknowns, but executives at Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare believe those payment rates to hospitals will be on par with commercial payors, according to a Dow Jones Business News report.
Tenet, and several other for-profit hospital companies, spoke at the 31st annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. Executives said they do not believe health insurers within the exchanges will offer lower reimbursement rates, like Medicare and Medicaid.
"We believe we should receive commercial pricing levels commensurate with our current levels," Tenet CFO Daniel Cancelmi said at the same conference, according to the report. "We'll certainly be negotiating that. That's certainly our starting point in terms of what we believe we should be reimbursed for that incremental volume."
Tenet's expectations clash with what other health insurers have said regarding the exchanges. At the same conference, executives of health insurer WellPoint said they will most likely pay hospitals lower rates for treating patients with exchange plans.
However, Tenet President and CEO Trevor Fetter told Dow Jones that hospitals have the upper hand in negotiations because patients could easily switch from one exchange plan to another. "I don't think you're going to see a lot of hospitals rushing to discount their pricing in order to participate in these products," Mr. Fetter said in the report.
Tenet, and several other for-profit hospital companies, spoke at the 31st annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. Executives said they do not believe health insurers within the exchanges will offer lower reimbursement rates, like Medicare and Medicaid.
"We believe we should receive commercial pricing levels commensurate with our current levels," Tenet CFO Daniel Cancelmi said at the same conference, according to the report. "We'll certainly be negotiating that. That's certainly our starting point in terms of what we believe we should be reimbursed for that incremental volume."
Tenet's expectations clash with what other health insurers have said regarding the exchanges. At the same conference, executives of health insurer WellPoint said they will most likely pay hospitals lower rates for treating patients with exchange plans.
However, Tenet President and CEO Trevor Fetter told Dow Jones that hospitals have the upper hand in negotiations because patients could easily switch from one exchange plan to another. "I don't think you're going to see a lot of hospitals rushing to discount their pricing in order to participate in these products," Mr. Fetter said in the report.
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