The contract between Sacred Heart and Spokane Emergency Physicians calls upon the physician group to bill separately for emergency room care and provides a subsidy to the physician group to offset the losses from poor and uninsured patients who cannot pay their bills.
According to the report, the contract that went into effect in early April reduces the subsidy provided to emergency room physicians to help them recoup a portion of the losses from unpaid patient bills. Sacred Heart told physicians on March 30 that if they did not sign the contract by the morning of April 1, the hospital would sign a deal with a national medical services company.
Two physicians resigned following the contract change, and other providers say the subsidy reduction has damaged professional ties between the hospital and physician group. According to the report, compensation projections included some rollbacks of at least 30 percent for emergency department physicians.
Read the Spokesman-Review report on Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center.
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