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On the evening of Wednesday, February 8, 2023, Anthony Torres, MD, President and CEO of Dignity Health Yavapai Regional Medical Center (YRMC), provided an update on the status of negotiations with Arizona’s Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Yavapai Regional Medical Center – East. Prescott Valley, Arizona.
“As President and CEO Dignity Health Yavapai Regional Medical Center (YRMC) as well as a long-time physician and resident of the Yavapai County community, I Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona (BCBSAZ).
For months, YRMC has been negotiating with BCBSAZ to protect access to health services for thousands of patients. As a non-profit healthcare organization, we rely on reimbursement from health insurance to maintain essential healthcare and community benefits. Unfortunately, BCBSAZ is reluctant to agree to a new contract that puts patients and our community first.
We regret that our efforts to engage in a constructive, cooperative and transparent dialogue with BCBSAZ to reach a fair and timely agreement have been unsuccessful. Our recent offer made significant concessions and was well below our own inflation rate. BCBSAZ rejected it without even submitting a counterproposal. At this point, they don’t seem committed to reaching an agreement.
As a result, YRMC and BCBSAZ were unable to reach mutual agreement. Starting February 8th at 5pm YRMC is no longer considered part of her BCBSAZ network. Yavapai Regional Medical Group (YRMG) outpatient clinic services will remain in the network for patients who are members of BCBSAZ.
We know how important this is to our community. We promised him to work around the clock to reach an agreement. Unfortunately, BCBSAZ has shown no such urgency, commitment or willingness to compromise. As a result, costs are now passed on to patients by BCBSAZ in the form of out-of-pocket costs and deductibles. Our patients and communities deserve better.
Like many hospitals, our local hospitals are facing extreme financial difficulties that jeopardize their services. BCBSAZ failed to come to an agreement, which is now having a significant impact on the health of the community. In fact, this could be:
- threatens our ability to continue to provide essential care to our patients for years to come
- undermine our efforts to recruit and retain the nurses and doctors who care for patients every day
- Force residents of Yavapai County to travel long distances to obtain some form of medical care
- Limit our ability to expand community services, especially for vulnerable populations
BCBSAZ recently attempted to publicly downplay the impact of the contract termination on the community. At YRMC, we believe every life matters and every patient should be financially protected by a health insurance plan. We do not underestimate our responsibility as a provider of quality healthcare in our community and believe in bringing healthcare to the community.
YRMC has been providing healthcare in our community for nearly 80 years. Patients are at the center of our activities. This, and the exceptionally close-knit community of Yavapai County, is why I moved here in 2006.
As a healthcare provider and resident of this wonderful community, I am very concerned that BCBSAZ has no interest in working with you to reach a reasonable agreement for your patients.
I recognize the inconvenience and stress this negotiation has caused to BCBSAZ insurance patients. Please know that it is our intention to continue the dialogue with BCBSAZ and reach an agreement to ensure that medical services available to the community continue for many years to come.
For BCBSAZ patients who may have questions, I encourage you to visit yrmc.org/bcbsaz for more information. “
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