John Muir/Mount Diablo Resumes Talks with Blue Cross
Contract negotiations over provider reimbursement rates between Blue Cross of California and the John Muir/Mount Diablo Health System will resume Monday, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The contract, which expired Dec. 31, affects about 400 physicians from the John Muir/Mount Diablo Health Network and the Concord-based Mount Diablo Medical Center, but does not affect the John Muir Medical Center, which has another year left on its contract with Blue Cross. Patricia Hefner, spokesperson for John Muir/Mount Diablo, said the health system had "recently" settled contracts with Prudential Insurance Co. and Aetna Inc. "It's our hope that we can do the same with Blue Cross," she added. Meanwhile, contract disputes continue between Blue Cross and Sutter Health. The Sutter contract also expired on Dec. 31, but at present no further talks between Sutter and Blue Cross officials have been scheduled (Colliver, San Francisco Chronicle, 1/19).
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