JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The deadline for Florida Blue and Baptist Health to come to terms on a new contract agreement is Monday night, and dozens of News4JAX viewers have shared their concerns over the possibility of losing their coverage.
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If both parties fail to reach an agreement before Oct. 1, Baptist Health will be considered out-of-network for some 600,000 Florida Blue customers across the region.
With the chances of the insurer and hospital reaching an agreement getting slimmer as the deadline approaches, dozens of people have taken to News4JAX to share their concerns and write how failed negotiations would impact them.
As of Monday afternoon, News4JAX received 165 submissions from concerned customers — and counting. Scroll to read some of them.
“I am at the beginning of care needed for life. I feel I’m being tossed back and forth like a “hot potato”. I’ve been with my Baptist provider for 20+ years and live on my Social Security income. I cannot pay “out of network” so I’ll have to stop ALL medical treatments.”
Dorothy D.
“My husband and are retired and have been with Baptist all our adult life. It is hard to find new providers as senior citizens. The expense will be great for older adults living on a fixed income.”
Ellie M.
“I moved here to be closer to family while I am suffering from a condition that requires a very specific specialty neurosurgeon to place stents in areas in my brain as different veins in my brain fail with no known cause or cure (idiopathic intercranial hypertension, a form of hydrocephalus). It’s incredibly painful and I am in the midst of treatment, planning multiple procedures and brain surgeries with a neurosurgeon affiliated with Baptist, and now they are all being cancelled and rescheduled due to this insurance thing. I am in so much pain, I am scared, my family and I don’t know what to do. We’re considering packing up and going back to Washington despite the condition of my health to make sure my care doesn’t lapse. I’m at risk for blindness, stroke, and stent failure if this isn’t maintained and it feels like Baptist and Florida Blue don’t realize or care that the bargaining chips they are using are our lives. I’m terrified, my family is terrified, we all are. Just “going to another doctor” means restarting this process and putting my life at risk for the sake of someone else’s wallet. You can do everything right, insure yourself, get the best doctors, and the rug can still get pulled out from under you. As of today, all my surgeries have been cancelled or postponed if I don’t self-pay and I can’t afford the hundreds of thousands of dollars each one costs. What now?
Francesca C.
“I am deeply concerned about how the ongoing situation between Florida Blue and Baptist Health will impact my care. I have a surgery scheduled for October 14th that is critical for managing a condition that has greatly affected my quality of life. Over the past months, I’ve undergone several procedures, scans, imaging, office visits, and surgical consults, all of which have been both financially and emotionally exhausting. I have already met my deductible this year, and now I am faced with the possibility of having to forgo this benefit if I need to find a new surgeon and rebook my surgery. The surgeon who was set to perform my procedure is one of the few specialists in Jacksonville with extensive experience in the type of surgery I need. The thought of starting over with a new provider, at this point, is overwhelming and adds to the significant stress I am already experiencing. I sincerely hope that Florida Blue and Baptist are able to come to an agreement soon for the sake of patients like me who are relying on timely and specialized care.”
Anonymous
I have used Baptist over 20 years. It is crushing me as a senior to have to find a new primary and other resources I use in this network. I cannot afford to have a big increase in my heath care at this stage of my life nor can I pay a difference to continue to use Baptist for doctors and procedures and tests and pay out of pocket to absorb higher rates along with everything else climbing up to live would be a tremendous hardship. At some point people need to understand there is a limit to expect us patients to pay. I’m not happy about any of this and not happy if they reach an agreement I can’t accept, where does this all end for those of us without deep pockets?
Anonymous
“I need a surgery that I’ve bern waiting for 3 years to finally get approval. Now they will not go forward and if a contract is not reached, I will have to start all over again with approvals. I am in considerable pain and I’d be pushed back at least another year.”
Alyce D.
“I’m very concerned about this. I see a neuro-ophthalmologist at Baptist for a fairly rare condition called idiopathic intracranial-hypertension. The condition means swelling in the brain/skull for unknown reasons and can cause blindness if not treated and controlled properly. I have been seeing this physician since diagnosis in 2017 and he is an incredible doctor with a relatively rare specialty. Neuro-opthalmologists are hard to come by even in large cities. It would be detrimental for me to have to start over with a new doctor and I would not be comfortable switching to anyone else so I am praying that Blue Cross can compromise and pay these amazing doctors and medical facilities what they are worth in this economy.
Krystina B.
“This will affect so many of us in Jacksonville. With my current health plan (and having a daughter with a chronic illness) which requires numerous specialists (who are at Wolfson and Nemours) if the contract is not reached, we would have to pay cash for some of her specialists (and that cost would quickly go into the thousands), or try to start over with new specialists (but she has been with the specialists for over 5 years). You don’t want your child to start over with new specialists and new care. This is very scary, and as a long time member of this city - we need Baptist & Blue Cross. They provide great care, so many jobs and amazing health care to this town, but it is time to put aside the money which is the heart of this matter and think of all the individual patients who won’t have care on October 1st and stop thinking of their big CEO salaries and bonuses. Get the contract signed!
Anonymous
“I’m a teacher, the main source of income for my family, and about to have my first child within the next week. My doctors who I have worked with this whole pregnancy (which has had several health complications, requiring monitoring and a c-section) only go through them. This would be financially devastating, and would set my family back by years if some kind of agreement is not reached. Not all of us have the luxury to just switch hospitals. Any agreement is better than none.”
Anonymous
“My healthcare has been with Baptist Health-affiliated providers and facilities for almost 20 years. I don’t appreciate being forced to change. Patients are people, not just numbers on a spreadsheet.”
Anonymous
“My daughter is 3 months old and needs feeding therapy via Wolfsons. She cannot get it and we are having huge difficulties getting her to eat enough to grow. If she doesn’t grow she will need additional testing and maybe a feeding tube from Wolfsons. We don’t have anywhere to take her for necessary care if this agreement isn’t signed. They need to figure something out for Wolfsons. This is the only children’s hospital, we don’t have other options and kids are going to suffer.”
Anonymous
Baptist Health released an update Friday on the ongoing battle with the insurance company.
According to Baptist Health, Florida Blue “made it clear” that it is not interested in negotiating but “requested a 30-day extension” to the current contract.
For the past eight months, Baptist Health has consistently engaged in good-faith negotiations with Florida Blue. With just days left until our current contract expires at midnight on September 30th, we had expected a reasonable response to our most recent offer. Instead, today Florida Blue has made it clear that they are finished negotiating but in the next breath requested a 30-day extension to our current contract. We cannot see any wisdom in an extension given Florida Blue’s refusal to compromise, yet we remain ready to negotiate any time and any day for a fair agreement by the original deadline. We seek an agreement that ensures we can continue providing the vital services our community depends on, both now and in the future.
Baptist Health
Florida Blue countered Baptist Health’s latest statement by stating that the reason for the 30-day extension was to continue negotiating the contract.
The health insurance company said the latest offer it received from Baptist Health adds up to a 58% rate increase over the next five years, with annual increases that average nearly 10%.
Florida Blue said patients will be financially impacted if they agree to Baptist’s proposal.
Patients can also find answers to their questions at baptistjax.com/florida-blue and at floridablue.com/negotiation/baptisthealthjax.