Staff Report
Published July 10, 2009

After months of contract negotiations, Roper St. Francis Healthcare and BlueChoice HealthPlan of South Carolina have renewed their contract through December 2011.

This means Roper St. Francis will continue to be considered “in-network” for patients with BlueChoice, including Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurance. The agreement applies to services provided through the 132 hospital physicians and at Roper’s 20 facilities across the Lowcountry.

The discussion began last fall with the contract between Roper’s Physician Partners and BlueChoice, but the discussion evolved to include the entire Roper Health Care network and Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance organization, said Ellen Brown, vice president of managed care and business relations for Roper St. Francis Healthcare.

Roper cited BlueChoice’s level of reimbursement as the main point of contention and reason for the delay. BlueChoice contended that Roper was “demanding excessive increases in a time when companies and individuals are having a difficult time affording insurance,” said Elizabeth Hammond, spokesperson for BlueChoice.

The current contract was set to expire at the end of June, and the agreement was reached July 2, Brown said.

Brown said the terms of the agreement are confidential but said “Both parties met in the middle to benefit the patients, BlueChoice customers and the community.”