Parkview Medical and Cigna agree on contract
Update: Parkview Medical center and Cigna announced Tuesday that they have reached an agreement on a new contract.
Parkview will continue to provide in-network care for its Cigna patients without interruption.
“We believe the terms of this agreement are in the best interest of the hospital, and most importantly, the people of Southern Colorado who depend on us for their care,” said Leslie Barnes, president and CEO of Parkview Medical Center.
“We’re pleased to reach this new agreement that will provide our customers with uninterrupted access to their trusted health care professionals at rates that will stabilize the cost of their care and help keep it affordable,” said John Roble, President of Cigna Mountain States.
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A major health insurance company may be ending its partnership with one of southern Colorado’s largest hospitals. Parkview Medical Center and Cigna have until July 1 to negotiate a new contract.
Patients who come to Parkview for their health care will receive or have already received a letter from Cigna in the mail. The letter states that if Parkview Medical Center leaves your plan’s network, patients will either have to go to a different hospital, change health care networks, or will likely have to pay significantly more for health care.
“Gosh, my family has gone to Parkview, for fifteen years,” said Kelly Hobbs, a Cigna patient who received the letter last week. “It says if there’s a procedure you have done that’s maybe not covered in the out-of-network situation, you could be liable for 100% of the costs.”
According to Parkview Medical Center spokesperson Jeff Tucker, negotiations regarding rates paid by Cigna reached an impasse in April. That’s when Parkview informed the health care provider it planned to terminate the agreement.
“What that did is it started a clock on Cigna to have them come back to the table and start negotiating within 90 days,” said Tucker. “Since then, that has happened. Cigna was also required by law to send out a letter to their patients informing them their contract might expire.”
The hope is to have a contract in place well before July.
In the letter, Cigna suggests transferring to another in-market hospital like St. Mary-Corwin Medical Center.
However, the thought of changing hospitals isn’t something Hobbs relishes.
“I think people know you choose your doctors because you have that comfort level with them,” said Hobbs. “And to have to go to someone else, it’s a big deal for people.”
Negotiations are still intact between the two at this time. It’s unclear what the exact number of impacted patients is.
We reached out to Cigna for comment but they couldn’t be reached. In the letter, Cigna suggests that if a patient has any questions regarding the future of their health care they are encouraged to call 800-Cigna24 or 1-800-244-6224.
