October 23, 2014
Dear Community Leader:
I’m writing to you with important information regarding contract negotiations between
Grady Health System and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia (BCBSGA).
For the better part of a year, we have been actively negotiating with BCBSGA for a new
contract regarding how the health plan pays for the services Grady provides to its members
at our hospital and off-site facilities. Despite issuing a termination notice to set a timeline
for reaching a new agreement and our best efforts to collaboratively resolve our differences
during the last three months, we still remain far apart.
Our current contract expires on November 24, 2014. If we do not reach a new
agreement, our hospital and facilities (NOT our physicians) will be forced out of
network starting on November 25, creating a significant impact to our community’s
access to quality care at Grady.
Grady is a vital resource for our community. When it matters most, people put their faith in
us. For Grady to continue providing the care that so many patients rely on in their darkest
hours, we must be financially sound. That starts with fair payment terms from insurers.
Here are some key points of the negotiations:
•
BCBSGA's payments to Grady are among the lowest in the state. A third-party
analysis revealed that Grady receives among the lowest payments from BCBSGA in
our city and throughout the state of Georgia. In fact we are paid up to 70% less
than other hospitals in Georgia. We are not asking for more than we deserve. We
are simply asking BCBSGA to fulfill its responsibility and pay Grady fairly for the
services we provide.
•
BCBSGA doesn’t recognize Grady’s unique, high-quality services. Grady houses
one of only two Level 1 trauma centers in North Georgia, one of two burn centers in
the entire state, and Georgia’s most advanced and busiest stroke and neuroscience
center.
It’s important to note that renegotiating this contract is not the only thing we are doing to
improve Grady’s financial and operational sustainability. In an effort to lower costs and
create efficiencies, we’ve enacted several initiatives and team efforts. Last year, we created
$20 million in savings, without sacrificing quality patient care. This year, these operational
efforts and new efficiencies have put us on target to trim back an additional $10-15 million.
Even with great strides by our organization, BCBSGA needs to do its fair share too through
reasonable rates in our contracts. But so far, it has been unwilling or even acknowledged
that Grady is different from other hospitals in Georgia.
As a leader in our community, your voice commands the attention of many. I encourage you
to join others in our community in urging BCBSGA to offer Grady a fair and reasonable
contract for the vital services we provide. Here are a few things you can do to get involved:
•
Contact BCBSGA. You can reach out to leaders at BCBSGA directly and encourage a
fair resolution to these negotiations. Contact Morgan Kendrick, President
BCBSGA, at (404) 848-2151 or mkendrick@bcbsga.com.
•
Share this information with others you know. Please talk with your friends,
colleagues and neighbors and help us raise awareness about this important issue. If
you’d like help in sharing information with others (whether it’s a fact sheet to hand
out or a PDF to circulate via email), please contact us at the email below.
•
Follow Grady on Twitter @GradyHealth and like us on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/gradyhealthsystem. In addition to updating our website, we
will post important messages on these two platforms.
There’s still time to reach an agreement. We will continue to negotiate in good faith with
BCBSGA, and will do everything in our power to arrive at a fair contract before November
24.
I will keep you informed as our negotiations move forward. In the meantime, if you have
any questions or need more information, please contact Richard Rhine, Senior Vice
President, at Grady at rrhine@gmh.edu.
I also encourage you to visit www.gradyhealth.org/bluecross where you can watch a couple
of our patients share powerful stories about their recovery. We are honored to have
provided them with the quality care they deserve. I remain hopeful that we will be able to
arrive at a compromise with BCBSGA, so we can continue to save lives for generations to
come.
Sincerely,
John M. Haupert, FACHE
Chief Executive Officer
P.S.
All BCBSGA members, including Medicare Advantage and statewide plans, are
impacted by these negotiations. That applies to teachers, police officers and other
public sector employees throughout Georgia, whose health benefits are provided
through BCBSGA. That’s hundreds of thousands of people who may not have access
to our hospital and facilities if we are forced out of network.