JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A contract between Florida Blue and Baptist Health expires Monday which could leave tens of thousands paying more for their care or finding a new doctor altogether.
“Time is running out on our contract with Baptist Health Jacksonville,” Darnell Smith, Florida Blue’s North Florida market president, said. “There is a fair and reasonable agreement on the table from Florida Blue that would provide Baptist Health with hundreds of millions of dollars over the next several years – yet they continue to demand more.”
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Smith told Action News Jax more than 34,000 Florida Blue customers went to Baptist in the past 90 days.
READ: ‘Confident we can get this done:’ Florida Blue exec provides update on Baptist Health negotiations.
According to its website, approximately 600,000 Florida Blue members would be impacted if Baptist Health leaves the network “because they would no longer be able to access Baptist Health physicians or facilities.”
On Facebook, Baptist Health posted an open letter from its board of directors. “Unless Florida Blue decides at the last minute to prioritize the health of our community, Baptist Health and Wolfson Children’s Hospital will no longer have a contract with Florida Blue on Tuesday morning,” it said.
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According to the letter, the COVID-19 pandemic stressed its system and the impacts to workforce compensation are still being felt. The board said healthcare inflation has grown 50% faster than what they’ve received from Florida Blue in rate increases since 2016.
The letter also said Florida Blue pays about 2/3 of what they pay other comparable health systems in the state.
Florida Blue said the deal offered by Baptist would add more than $1 billion in new expenses, although Baptist said it would affect Florida Blue’s total spend on healthcare services in the region by less than 2% a year.
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“It’s not insignificant, but it’s also not the massive impact that Florida Blue has led people to believe,” Baptist said.
Action News Jax Robert Grant asked Smith about the 2% number last week. “I don’t know where they’re getting the 2% number from,” Smith said. “We are offering them a very fair deal, which is an above-market deal. What they’re asking for is an almost double-digit increase. We simply cannot accept.”
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