The teaching hospital of Valhalla and Empire no longer have a contractual agreement effective 11/1. This effects the commercial product and not the Medicare plan – MediBlue.
This comes up on the heels of the rancorous recent dispute between Empire and Stellaris Hospital Systems which was finally resolved after 5 months without a contract. Disputes like these are becoming industry wide- see Hospital Contract Non-Negotiation. Unusually, the dispute between Empire and Westchester Medical Center came as a rather surprise without the typical 11th hour press releases by both parties.
Size matters when it comes to these disputes. Empire is still #1 insurer with close to 5 million members. While the hospital serves the Westchester community and is a vital resource they do not have the scale as the 4 member hospital like Stellaris Hospital Systems which includes Phelps Memorial, Lawrence Hosp, White Plains Hosp, and Northern Westchester Hosp.
More info on Empire Blue Cross’s position can be reviewed here. We are awaiting further the hospitals position to share with clients and partners. For more customized information and how to navigate this please contact us:
Millennium Medical Solutions Corp.
200 Business Park Drive
Armonk, NY 10504
914-207-6161
Great hospital, I had my 2 kids there.
I wish I would have heard about it sooner. It would have saved me a trip. I took off work early for nothing.
Thanks to all the big wigs wanting only to line their own pockets instead of actually putting patients first my poor little boy awaits a procedure that can only be performed by his doctor there.
This is precisly what is wrong with our healthcare system! It all comes down to dollars and cents instead of compassionate sense.
I sincerely hope this dispute is resolved as soon as possible with the thought in mind that my family cannot be alone in this situation.
Until then we wait until we can have the testing done to help find out what is causing my little boy his daily discomfort 🙁