Blue Cross of California & Sutter Health Reach Agreement on Multi-Year Contract.Business Editors SACRAMENTO & THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 20, 2001 Blue Cross of California, an operating subsidiary of WellPoint Health Networks Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :WLP WLP WebLogic Portal (Bea Systems) WLP Wafer Level Packaging WLP Women's Learning Partnership (Bethesda, MD) WLP Workplace Learning & Performance WLP World Library Partnership, Inc. ), and the Sutter Health network of hospitals and doctors announced today that they have reached agreement on a new multi-year contract. The contract is retroactive to January 1, 2001, when the previous contract ended. This means services provided to Blue Cross members by Sutter physicians or at Sutter hospitals between January 1 and the signing of the new agreement will be covered at the in-network benefit level according to the specific Blue Cross policyholder's benefit terms. Previously, the contract between Sutter Health and Blue Cross had terminated at midnight, December 31, 2000. The new agreement allows Blue Cross of California members access to all of Sutter Health's 26 Northern California hospitals and to physicians affiliated with Sutter medical foundations. The contract with Sutter Health covers all Blue Cross HMO HMO health maintenance organization. HMO n. A corporation that is financed by insurance premiums and has member physicians and professional staff who provide curative and preventive medicine within certain financial, and PPO PPO abbr. preferred provider organization PPO Managed care Preferred provider organization, see there Infectious disease Pleuropneumonia-like organism, see there members according to the benefit coverage they currently have in place. Previous announcements made by Blue Cross regarding benefit and payment adjustments are superceded by the new contract. All Blue Cross HMO members who were reassigned to new primary care physicians as a result of Sutter's termination can be assigned back to their Sutter doctor if they request a reassignment from Blue Cross. In a joint statement, Sutter Health President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. Van R. Johnson and Blue Cross of California President Ron Williams said, "We are pleased that we have been able to resolve our differences with a new multi-year contract that provides Blue Cross members with full access to Sutter Health's affiliated physicians and hospitals in Northern California." Johnson and Williams added: "We very much regret the disruptions and uncertainty that Blue Cross members and Sutter Health patients have experienced during the past several weeks. It is our goal to develop and maintain a collaborative and positive relationship going forward." Negotiations between Sutter Health and Blue Cross were restarted following a meeting initiated by Assemblywoman Helen Thomson in Sacramento on February 7. Both Sutter and Blue Cross have worked since then to reach today's successful agreement. Financial terms and conditions will not be made public as per normal policy. "Assemblywoman Thomson was instrumental in helping to get our negotiations back on track," said Johnson and Williams. "Her guidance and willingness to engage with our organizations helped bring us to this successful conclusion." One of the nation's leading non-profit networks of community health care services, Sutter Health serves more than twenty Northern California counties, from the Oregon border to the San Joaquin Valley Noun 1. San Joaquin Valley - a vast valley in central California known for its rich farmland Calif., California, Golden State, CA - a state in the western United States on the Pacific; the 3rd largest state; known for earthquakes , and from the Pacific coast to the Sierra foothills. Sutter medical centers care for more inpatients than any other network in Northern California, and lead the market in infant deliveries, neonatology neonatology /neo·na·tol·o·gy/ (ne?o-na-tol´ah-je) the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the newborn. ne·o·na·tol·o·gy n. , orthopedics, pediatrics and cancer care services. Sutter Health has care centers in more than 100 Northern California cities and towns; more than two dozen acute care hospitals; physician training programs, medical research facilities, region-wide home health, hospice and occupational health networks; and long term care centers. Blue Cross of California, with 5.5 million medical members in the state, is the California operating subsidiary of WellPoint Health Networks Inc., one of the nation's largest publicly traded health care companies. WellPoint serves the health care needs of nearly 7.9 million medical and more than 40 million specialty members nationally. WellPoint offers a broad spectrum of quality network-based health products including open access PPO, POS (1) See point of sale and packet over SONET. (2) "Parent over shoulder." See digispeak. POS - point of sale and hybrid products, HMO and specialty products. Specialty products include pharmacy benefit management A Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) is a third party administrator of prescription drug programs. They are primarily responsible for processing and paying prescription drug claims. , dental, utilization management, vision, mental health, life and disability insurance, long term care insurance, flexible spending accounts, COBRA administration, and Medicare supplements. Affected Sutter Health-Affiliated Physician Organizations Sutter Gould Medical Foundation (San Joaquin Valley) -- Gould Medical Group Palo Alto Medical Foundation -- Palo Alto Medical Clinic -- Santa Cruz Medical Clinic -- Camino Medical Group Sutter Medical Foundation (Greater Sacramento Region) -- Sutter Medical Group -- Sutter West Medical Group -- Sutter Independent Physicians IPA IPA - International Phonetic Alphabet Sutter Medical Foundation North Bay (Sonoma County) -- Sutter Medical Group of the Redwoods Sutter North Medical Foundation (Northern Sacramento Valley) -- Sutter North Medical Group Affected Sutter Health Acute Care Hospitals (26) Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Alta Bates Summit Medical Center is a hospital located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its three campuses are located in Berkeley (Alta Bates Campus, Herrick Campus) and Oakland (Summit Campus). , Berkeley/Oakland -- Former Alta Bates Bates , Katherine Lee 1859-1929. American educator and writer best known for her poem "America the Beautiful," written in 1893 and revised in 1904 and 1911. Medical Center, Berkeley -- Former Summit Medical Center, Oakland California Pacific Medical Center California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) is one of the largest private, not-for-profit, academic medical centers in Northern California. The Medical Center is a combination of three of San Francisco's oldest medical institutions: Pacific Presbyterian Hospital, Children's Hospital , San Francisco Eden Medical Center, Castro Valley Marin General Hospital, Greenbrae Memorial Hospital Los Banos Memorial Medical Center, Modesto Mills-Peninsula Health Services health services Managed care The benefits covered under a health contract , San Mateo and Burlingame Novato Community Hospital, Novato Summit Medical Center, Oakland Sutter Amador Hospital, Jackson Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital, Auburn Sutter Center for Psychiatry, Sacramento Sutter Coast Hospital, Crescent City Sutter Davis Hospital, Davis Sutter Delta Medical Center Sutter Delta Medical Center is a hospital in Antioch, California. It is part of the Sutter Health network, a large corporate health care provider that ranks among dominant providers of health services in the state of California. , Antioch Sutter Lakeside Hospital, Lakeport Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center, Santa Cruz Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento -- Sutter General Hospital Sutter General Hospital, part of the Sutter Health network, is located in midtown Sacramento next to the historic Sutter's Fort State Park. It is also directly adjacent to the Capital City Freeway (Business Route 80). The hospital is housed in a five-story building. -- Sutter Memorial Hospital -- Sutter Center for Psychiatry Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa Sutter Merced Medical Center, Merced Sutter Roseville Medical Center, Roseville Sutter Solano Medical Center, Vallejo Sutter Tracy Community Hospital |
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