My healthcare insurance is through a Blue Cross/Blue Shield Advantage program. Many of us are wondering about what is actually going on with Blue Cross dropping all Memorial affiliated providers from their network. Blue Cross is effectively reducing their in-network providers by approximately one third, causing a ridiculous reduction in services to their subscribers. One may only speculate as to why Blue Cross would drop the entire Memorial system and reduce their network.
Hypothetically, imagine you are the largest medical insurer in the market area and are able to force most providers to accept a discounted rate of reimbursement for services that is less than the Usual and Customary Rate. Guess what happens when a large group of providers refuses to go along with the discounted rate? I believe the Chattanooga healthcare market is currently experiencing this dilemma. The excessive growth of the BCBST reserve fund may have influenced my opinion.
Without a prompt resolution to this enormous reduction of in-network providers by BCBST, I encourage every employer in our market area currently offering Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Tennessee medical insurance to develop and advertise request for proposals for healthcare insurance. Those RFP's should be advertised on an emergency basis because of this unreasonable and ridiculous reduction of their/our provider network.
Michael Glenn, Sr.
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Its not unusual for the health insurance agencies try to subvert their will to the health care providers, given that most insurance providers are cheap and don't want to pay the market rate. On the other hand, our health care system is broken and when the government interferes with anything that is free market, we the subscribers and patients suffer.
It's amazing that people who do pay the bills via medical insurance or Medicare, are seeing their rates increase and services diminished. From what I have seen, it's the bottom line. Money. They want to charge you more for services and do less. It's about the money.
I hope you find a better and more trusted health insurance provider other than BCBST.
Tim Bittenbender