Here’s what you should know.
1. Cigna’s contract with Tenet in Memphis expires Dec. 31 for commercial customers. The contract expiration won’t affect HealthSpring Medicare Advantage customers in Memphis.
2. The contract includes Tenet surgery centers, hospitals, physician clinics, imaging centers and, urgent care centers. Tenet operates the Memphis-based Surgery Center at Saint Francis, according to the company’s website, as well as several other outpatient facilities.
3. Cigna has been unable to reach an agreement with Tenet about what healthcare should cost at their facilities “despite repeated efforts to find common ground” with the company, Cigna said in a statement to Memphis Commercial Appeal. Tenet “is insisting on a national contract instead of state-based agreements,” according to the statement.
4. A Tenet spokesperson suggested Cigna is making unreasonable “demands for payment reductions” and appears to want a one-size-fits-all agreement.
5. About 2 percent of Cigna’s Memphis customers were treated at a Tenet hospital in the past 18 months.
More articles on coding, billing and collections:
Medical billing company owner to pay IRS $500K in restitution — 3 notes
5 steps ASCs can follow to improve ASC billing performance
3 essential elements, benefits to launching a bundled payment program in ASCs
At the Becker’s 32nd Annual Meeting: The Business and Operations of ASCs, taking place October 29-31 in Chicago, ASC leaders, surgeons and healthcare executives will explore strategies to drive growth, enhance operational performance, navigate reimbursement challenges and prepare for the future of ambulatory surgery. Apply for complimentary registration now.
