The hospital that houses our residency program is a powerhouse in Western North Carolina. Several regional hospitals have shut down their L&Ds and we are getting those patients traveling here for their deliveries. But the system itself is not objectively huge, more of a normal sized fish in a tiny pond. WNC is not that big compared to major urban centers of the region or even of our state.
They are big enough, however, to cause some trouble for an insurance company that is trying to strong-arm their contract renewal negotiations. I’ve seen this sort of thing happen in other communities I’ve lived in. The contracts don’t get negotiated substantively until AFTER they expire. That leaves people insured by the company (which I won’t name but its initials are BCBS) out in the cold during the process. Reimbursement of many smaller practices in the region will likely be guided by what happens with this conflict.
October 5th was the end of the contract and things are still heating up. Private mudslinging emails aired, giving excuses not to negotiate and blasting the fighting in the local papers. It is a little like Mom and Dad fighting and conveying messages through their children instead of coping like adults. Meanwhile a large portion of the privately insured of WNC are over a barrel.
There was a huge insurance company media campaign against the hospital and eventually someone from the hospital marketing department convinced the powers that be that it was time to hit back. There have been ads, Op Eds, signs posted around the hospital telling their side of things.
And patient care is already being affected. Fewer surgeries scheduled, women about to have babies are trying to figure out where they need to go and how they should navigate the situation. Because they are being told to drive FAR away for the births of their babies and remember what I said about the smaller regional hospitals closing their L&D units? It’s all a mess.
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