In a letter last week, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey reminded its members that Hoboken University Medical Center is now out of Horizon BCBSNJ’s hospital network. This means that Hoboken’s only hospital will not give patients with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance in-network rates for many services.
Hoboken UMC, owned by the for-profit CarePoint Health, joins Bayonne Medical Center and Christ Hospital (two other CarePoint hospitals) in choosing to leave Horizon BCBSNJ’s network over the last 12 months.
Last month, Horizon officials blamed the situation on negotiations breaking down between them and CarePoint Health.
“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 to the Reporter in May. “We have put forward a number of reasonable offers to CarePoint and continue to hope that they will return to the negotiating table.”
Those in need of emergency room treatment will not likely see their medical expenses affected. A New Jersey statute requires such bills to be the same across all hospitals so patients won’t have to trek to a far away hospital in the event they need immediate treatment.
However, it’s not so clear-cut for patients who need non-emergency treatment.
Contact your insurer to get the most up to date information about whether you are covered (it is advisable at times to call more than once and get the name of the person you talked to in order to get the right information).
CarePoint notified Horizon earlier this year of their intent to terminate the Hoboken UMC contract. Bayonne Medical center ended their contract effective May 1, 2016 and Christ Hospital in Jersey City terminated on June 1, 2015.
CarePoint spokesperson Jarrod Bernstein said last month, “CarePoint Health seeks to be in-network with every insurer in the state…We look forward to continuing to negotiate” with the insurer.
– SR