JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida Blue customers are relieved after the insurance company agreed to a new contract with Baptist Health hours before the Monday night deadline.
The Sept. 30 deadline had been looming for weeks as patients anxiously waited to learn if Florida Blue and Baptist Health would be able to negotiate a deal.
The sides had been at it for eight months, going back and forth over who was failing to compromise.
Patients like Francesca Capozzi who receive specialized care are relieved about the new deal.
“I have something called pseudotumor cerebri, where basically my brain, different areas kind of fail or collapse inside of it for no known reason, no cause,” Capozzi said.
The possibility of losing access to her neurology doctor at Baptist Health was alarming.
“Honestly, it was kind of terrifying,” Capozzi said. “Right now we’re in the middle of a lot of different treatment and therapy programs, and we had about three or four different surgeries planned.”
She said she and her fiance were panicking.
“[We] were starting to look at even out-of-state options, where we could fly to anything that we could do,” Capozzi said. “So we were definitely panicking.”
Her rare brain condition means access to treatment is a life-or-death situation.
“The level of damage that can happen can lead to stroke, and the longer that you wait, and the longer the fluid crisis pressure right now on my sagittal sinus can lead to death and stroke very easily so time is of the essence,” Capozzi said.
Her story is just like thousands of others who were caught in the middle of the negotiations.
The contract details are still under wraps and price hikes are a real possibility.
Randy Wyse represents Jacksonville first responders for their health insurance needs.
He said the deal was necessary for so many people but there are still quite a few unknowns.
“We can assume that there will be increases to the costs that Baptist will be charging members, or that Florida Blue will reimburse,” Wyse said. “So, you know, that’s something we have to look at, what is the impact that’ll be to our trust against speaking specifically to the trust for our first responders in Jacksonville, and we’ll make adjustments.”
Francesca said she’s weighing her options for care as the two parties lost her trust during the negotiations.
“I do feel like I might be considering looking at other options as well to make sure that the continuity of care just continues,” Capozzi said. “Because any lapse in care is not a matter of paperwork. For me, it’s a matter of life and death, so I can’t let it lapse.”
Many Florida Blue members are currently in the process of rescheduling their canceled appointments with Baptist so longer wait times should be expected.
News4JAX asked Baptist Health and Florida Blue officials for details on their new contract agreement but is waiting to hear back.