Business & Tech

Insurer Health Net to Stop Covering Fountain Valley Regional Hospital

Insurance Giant Health Net will stop covering services at six Tenet hospitals in Southern California including Fountain Valley Hospital and the Los Alamitos Medical Center.

Health insurance provider Health Net, Inc. announced today it will stop covering medical and health services at six Southern California hospitals run by Tenet Healthcare including Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center after contract negotiations broke down.

As a three-year contract came to a close at midnight on Dec. 21, the two companies were unable to agree on reimbursement rates for services necessary to renew the contract.  Health Net wanted reimbursement rate increases to be tied to the Consumer Price Index, which currently averages about 3 percent, according to the company. Health Net also wanted Medi-Cal reimbursements to be tied to state and federal funding for the program. Tenet was pushing for higher reimbursement rates.

The move will force thousands of people covered by Health Net to see their doctors or schedule treatments at 10 other available hospitals.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

The effected hospitals include Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, Fountain Valley Hospital and Medical Center, John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Indio, Lakewood Regional Medical Center, Los Alamitos Medical Center and Placentia Linda Hospital.

``The decision to proceed with the termination process was difficult,'' said Steve Sell, president of Health Net's Western Region Health Plan. ``We had no choice, however, as Tenet Healthcare has refused our requests to negotiate a new contract that more accurately reflects current statewide market conditions.''

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

``Our goal is to help preserve affordable benefits for our customers, not pass along inflated health care costs,'' Sell added.

A spokesman for Tenet Healthcare was not immediately available to comment. In a statement, Health Net encouraged affected members, employers, brokers, and consultants to call its customer services department at (800) 522- 0088.

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK IN THE COMMENTS

Will this affect you? Do you plan to switch hopsitals or insurance?

 - City News Service


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here