Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi and the University of Mississippi Medical Center's mediation continues, but in-network care coverage expires July 1 for many Blue Cross patients at the hospital, Mississippi Today reported June 30.
Federal law required the medical center — the state's safety-net hospital — to continue honoring in-network rates for certain patients for a 90-day period after it went out of network with the payer April 1, according to the report. That period expires July 1.
Blue Cross will now only honor in-network rates for emergency care for its insured, according to the publication.
The expiration puts Blue Cross patients in a difficult situation with no timeline of if and when the impasse will end, according to the report. Blue Cross is the state's largest private insurer.
One mother of a 20-month old with a rare genetic condition called Pompe disease has started the process of transferring her son's care to LeBonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis, a three-hour drive from their home, according to the report.
Representatives of the payer and provider declined to give an update on their talks to Mississippi Today.