HOBOKEN AND BAYONNE – The fact Bayonne and Hoboken University medical centers may end their relationship with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey in the next few months is due to a breakdown of negotiations on the side of CarePoint Health, according to Horizon Blue Cross officials.
Horizon sent an email to the The Reporter in response to a report on hudsonreporter.com yesterday.
CarePoint is the for-profit health company that runs three hospitals in the area. The company will stop accepting Horizon health care as in-network insurance at Bayonne Medical Center on May 1, and at Hoboken University Medical Center on June 1.
For-profit hospitals have, over the years, dropped certain insurance companies if they could not negotiate what they believe are reasonable rates in time. They may still see the patients, but they are not covered in network.
Patients coming in through the emergency room won’t see costlier medical expenses since a New Jersey law mandates such bills to be the same across all hospitals. However that’s not exactly the case for patients who need treatment for non-emergencies.
“There has been some confusion about who is responsible for the termination, but the facts are clear: CarePoint Health notified us last year that they were exercising their right to terminate the contract without cause,” said Kevin McArdle, Public Affairs Manager for Horizon in a statement. “We have put forward a number of reasonable offers to CarePoint and continue to hope that they will return to the negotiating table.”
CarePoint Health officials told The Reporter on Tuesday that they do plan to return to that negotiating table but declined to comment further.
On April 26 the Hoboken City Council approved an agreement with CarePoint Health and United Health Care to accommodate its municipal workers (who previously used Horizon) in order to save millions, according to a letter from Mayor Dawn Zimmer. – Steven Rodas
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