Chaney obliging Bryant on probe of BCBS provider adequacy
With a U.S. District judge having invalidated his executive order, Gov. Phil Bryant says he will no longer seek to force Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Mississippi to re-instate in-network status to policyholders who use the services of the 10 Mississippi hospitals owned by Health Management Associates.
But the governor still wants to get to the bottom of whether the giant insurer, which is said to control 80 percent of the health care insurance market in the state, is adhering to the state’s insurance rules and policies in its standoff with HMA over reimbursements. Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney says he is particularly concerned about the viability of BCBS’s provider network minus HMA. He said he began investigating the issue even before Bryant had asked for it.
The Department of Insurance, he said, “is in the midst of an in-depth and vigorous investigation of the adequacy of Blue Cross’ provider network. This investigation began prior to the issuance of Executive Order 1327 by the Governor’s Office.”
Mississippi Business Journal
10/31/13
Magnolia Tribune
