7/29/2019 Blue Cross Blue Shield Fact Sheet
1/3
Blui^Cruss BlueShie ld(>rMiKsKHippiTHE TRUTH BEHIND THE
DISPUTE BETWEEN
BLUE CROSS & BLUE SH IELD OF MISS ISS IPPI AND HMA
Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi - A Mississippi
Company for MississippiansThe Legislature is conducting a public
hearing on a legal matter between two private companiesone
aMississippi-based health insurance company and one an out-of-state
(Naples, Florida-based) for-profithospital corporation.
Before the Legislature moves quickly to support HMA's high
charges and to help HMAmaximizeitsprofitsfor its shareholders, the
Legislature needs to understand that what is really at stakehere is
the cost ofhealth carefo r Mississippians driven by ever-increasing
marketforces due tohealthcare reform.
Blue Cross & Blue Shield ofMississippi's ("Blue Cross") goal
and commitment to it members, hasalways been and will continue to
be, to work on our members becare services. This includes the
largest network of providers acncare services and the best Network
Provider price for those servi
lalf to manage the cost of their health3ss th e state t ha t e
nsu re s a cc es s for h ea lt h:es. Blue Cross will continue to
fight for
its members to manage their premiums and their out-of-pocket
costs.The truth is that Blue Cross members have a choice ofNetwork
Providers in every service area inthe state and that members can
use any hospitalfo r emergency care. The truth is that
NetworkHospitals across the state are working with Blue Cross to
improve the quality of care andmanage costs for theirpatients.
HMA sued Blues Cross because it wants to be paid more, not
because it wants to charge its patients less.Blue Cross canceled
HMA's contracts because HMA is more focused on maximizing charges
and beingpaid more than managing costs.The contracts between Blue
Cross andHMA allowed eitherparty to cancel the agreements.HMA's
allegation that Blue Cross has refused to try and resolve the
dispute isfalse. Blue Crosshas met with the Governor and the
Insurance Commissioner. Blue Cross was also willing to re -contract
with some HMA hospitals ifHMA wouldpermanently dismiss its baseless
lawsuit. HMArefused.
HMA IS MISLEADING THE PUBLIC AND POLIT IC IANS
The information HMA isproviding the public andpoliticians is
eitherfalse or verymisleading.HMA is misleading thepublic about
Blue Cross togain public sympathy so that the public andpoliticians
will be detractedfrom the truth about HMA.HMA Charges Exceed Other
Local HospitalsHMA area hospitals charge their patients
significantly more than our other local area hospitals chargetheir
patientsin some cases more than double the charges. The more HMA
hospitals charge, the morethey get paid. Blue Cross and other
payers must be able to establish payment structures to curb this
"totalcharge" abuse. Recently, Coahoma County Supervisor, Dr. Roger
Weiner, urged his fellow Board ofSupervisors to order an
investigation ofHMA-owned Northwest Mississippi Regional Medical
Center"for allegedly over-charging patients and providing poor
patient care." [J. Wright, Weiner Urges OtherSupervisors for Full
HMA Investigation, PRESS REGISTER, Aug. 1,2013]. According to the
article,Weiner is set to "prove the company isn't operating in the
best interest of county patients . .
Page 1 of3
