Blue shield pulls out of providence facilities.Employers offering Blue Shield's 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, or PPO PPO abbr. preferred provider organization PPO Managed care Preferred provider organization, see there Infectious disease Pleuropneumonia-like organism, see there plans to their employees received notice earlier this month that the health care provider would no longer be contracting with Providence Health System, which operates Providence Holy Cross Medical Center Providence Holy Cross Medical Center is a hospital in Mission Hills, California, USA. The hospital has 254 beds, and is part of Providence Health & Services. History and Providence St. Joseph Medical Center St. Joseph Medical Center may refer to: In the United States:
Providence officials said that members of Blue Shield's 65 Plus plan will not be affected and United Health members who accessed Blue Shield's PPO network will also be unaffected, as Providence reached a separate agreement with that company. In order to make sure its members continue to receive treatment, Blue Shield Blue Shield A US not-for-profit health care insurer that is a reimbursement intermediary for physicians. Cf Blue Cross. is directing St. Joseph's patients to Glendale Memorial Hospital and Holy Cross patients to Northridge Hospital Medical Center Northridge Hospital Medical Center is a hospital in the Northridge town of Los Angeles, California, USA. It is currently operated by Catholic Healthcare West. History The hospital was founded in 1955 by Dr. or Valley Presbyterian Hospital. A letter from Blue Shield to employers dated January 3 said that HMO and PPO contracts were terminated effective January 1. "We understand this termination may be disruptive to you and your employees," read the letter signed by Mitch Ross, vice president, sales distribution, and Peter G. Duncan, vice president of large group sales. "Blue Shield has taken the necessary steps to ensure that your employees will continue to have uninterrupted access to both medical and hospital care. We want to assure you that these changes will not affect your employee's current Blue Shield benefits or their ability to receive necessary medical care under their Blue Shield plan. We are also communicating this termination letter to your employees who are impacted by this transition." The letter also says that PPO members can continue to visit Providence facilities, but they will be reimbursed on non-preferred provider amounts. Dan Boyle, spokesman for Providence in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. , said the company is still working to find an agreement with Blue Shield. In the meantime Adv. 1. in the meantime - during the intervening time; "meanwhile I will not think about the problem"; "meantime he was attentive to his other interests"; "in the meantime the police were notified" meantime, meanwhile , Boyle said, there may be patients with physicians who only have privileges at Providence facilities. An order from the Department of Managed Health Care issued earlier this month stipulates that in such cases, patients can continue to use Providence facilities with no change to their reimbursement rates, Boyle said. Last year, Blue Shield member made up between four and five percent of total patients admitted to each hospital. Amgen Purchase Approved U.S. Antitrust officials gave a green light to biotechnology Titan Amgen's plan to purchase Abgenix. The Federal Trade Commission finished its investigation of the deal, which would be worth $2.2 billion, without taking any action. Amgen announced in December that it was planning to buy Abgenix. MannKind Stock Gets Boost MannKind Corp., which is racing to complete development of its inhaled insulin technology, saw its stock price rise after Piper Jaffray analyst Thomas Wei noted that high doses of the Technosphere Insulin did not produce severe hypoglycemia hypoglycemia: see diabetes. hypoglycemia Below-normal levels of blood glucose, quickly reversed by administration of oral or intravenous glucose. Even brief episodes can produce severe brain dysfunction. in any patients, which is a serious safety concern in high insulin doses. Wei said he now expects MannKind to perform better than companies working on similar products. Jeffries & Co.'s analysts also raised that firms target on MannKind stock from $12 to $16. The FDA FDA abbr. Food and Drug Administration FDA, n.pr See Food and Drug Administration. FDA, n.pr the abbreviation for the Food and Drug Administration. has not yet approved any inhaled insulin product, but it is set to rule on Exubera, made by Pfizer Inc. and Nektar Pharmaceuticals. Industry experts widely expect the FDA to approve Exubera, the leading inhaled insulin product, therefore clearing the way for similar products. Analysts also speculated that MannKind may soon find a partner with which to develop Technosphere. Staff Reporter Jonathan D. Colburn can be reached at (818) 316-3124 or by e-mail at jdcolburn@sfvbj.com |
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