It’s a health care game of chicken that frankly occurs too often in Chattanooga.
We’re talking about the contract dispute between CHI Memorial Health Care System and insurer BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee over what the hospital and its doctors are paid.
If the two sides cannot reach an agreement by Sept. 8, the health system’s facilities, physicians and services will be out-of-network for patients with either commercial or BlueAdvantage (Medicare Advantage) plans, with the Chattanooga Heart Institute becoming out-of-network Oct. 1.
Out-of-network means higher costs for patients.
Talks between the two have been going on, depending on the source, for either six or eight months. But the apparent stalemate has reached the point where both sides have reached out to patients and subscribers to apprise them of the upcoming deadline. And thousands of patients and subscribers are getting nervous.