Post by Logan on Jun 27, 2016 1:48:56 GMT -6
Lawsuits say Blue Cross harms hospitals with tactic of paying patients
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia faces separate lawsuits accusing it of sending reimbursement money for emergency room care directly to patients — and not the hospital that delivered the service — because the latter isn’t part of the insurer’s network.
And that’s costing the hospitals money, according to the lawsuits, filed by Polk Medical Center in northwest Georgia and Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital in Los Angeles – 2,000 miles apart.
Each suit also says some patients have even tried to profit from receiving the direct payments for their ER care.
The lawsuit from Polk Medical Center says that Blue Cross, in its new payment process, was pursuing “retaliation’’ for the Cedartown hospital’s not agreeing to “unreasonable and unfair” terms in order to be part of the insurer’s network.
By sending the money directly to patients, Polk Medical Center says, the insurer forces the hospital in turn to collect money from the patients, who are obligated to pay the facility the amount sent to them by Blue Cross.
Read more: www.gwinnettdailypost.com/local/health/lawsuits-say-blue-cross-harms-hospitals-with-tactic-of-paying/article_8fb633c6-866f-5781-8498-7678a2326e99.html
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia faces separate lawsuits accusing it of sending reimbursement money for emergency room care directly to patients — and not the hospital that delivered the service — because the latter isn’t part of the insurer’s network.
And that’s costing the hospitals money, according to the lawsuits, filed by Polk Medical Center in northwest Georgia and Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital in Los Angeles – 2,000 miles apart.
Each suit also says some patients have even tried to profit from receiving the direct payments for their ER care.
The lawsuit from Polk Medical Center says that Blue Cross, in its new payment process, was pursuing “retaliation’’ for the Cedartown hospital’s not agreeing to “unreasonable and unfair” terms in order to be part of the insurer’s network.
By sending the money directly to patients, Polk Medical Center says, the insurer forces the hospital in turn to collect money from the patients, who are obligated to pay the facility the amount sent to them by Blue Cross.
Read more: www.gwinnettdailypost.com/local/health/lawsuits-say-blue-cross-harms-hospitals-with-tactic-of-paying/article_8fb633c6-866f-5781-8498-7678a2326e99.html