Blue Cross’ Reitz: offer on the table, but no more meetings scheduled

Mike Reitz, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana CEO, is defending his Wednesday announcement that the parent company of Our Lady of the Lake had decided to leave the Blue Cross network, despite the fact that a deal is still possible. “It simply says, effective 2/1/2010, the [Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health] System will no longer be in our networks,” Reitz says. “That is our position right now.” He says the midday news release, which came hours after a meeting with FMOL CEO John Finan, was not a negotiating ploy; rather, Reitz says Blue Cross was under contractual obligation to begin notifying members of a possible disruption, and says he told Finan as much when the meeting ended. To see the Blue Cross release, click here. Reitz says Blue Cross is offering a 3% increase with some “additional cost sharing,” or a continuation of the current contract for one year. The first public warning that negotiations were going nowhere apparently came in a Dec. 1 letter FMOL says it sent to fewer than 20 employers in each market served by its hospitals; a spokeswoman explains that after negotiations nearly broke down two years ago, employers asked for early warning if there was more trouble when the contract was up for renewal again. For a copy of that letter, click here.—David Jacobs