RMC continues negotiations with Blue Cross

Officials with Annistons Regional Medical Center said Friday the hospital could survive losing insurance coverage from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, but are confident a deal will be reached to prevent that.
Hospital officials said Friday that RMC will reach a new deal before the deadline. However, even if negotiations fail, officials say the hospital could generate enough revenue to remain open,. RMC officials said Jacksonville's hospital and several outlying clinics owned by RMC will not be affected since all are under different Blue Cross contracts.
Blue Cross began informing customers last week that RMC is terminating its contract with the company, effective Sept. 12. As a result, most services offered at RMC would not be covered by Blue Cross insurance after that date. RMC officials said Blue Cross ought to pay more for the hospital’s services to match what the insurer pays other area hospitals. However, Blue Cross said it won't increase its reimbursements to RMC, arguing that to do so would force it to raise customers' premiums.  Blue Cross is Alabama's largest private insurance provider, controlling about 90 percent of the market. Kernion said Blue Cross pays more to RMC's competitors, specifically Stringfellow Memorial Hospital, Gadsden Regional Medical Center and Riverview Regional Medical Center, all operated by Tennessee-based Community Health Systems.
The city of Anniston and Mayor Vaughn Stewart are helping with the issue. RMC is a nonprofit hospital overseen by a board of directors appointed by city councils in Anniston, Jacksonville, Oxford and the Calhoun County Commission. "The mayor is trying to get Blue Cross to come back to the table," Mayor Vaughn Stewart said he and other city officials spent much of Friday trying to help RMC. Stewart said he'd received many calls from residents concerned about how the issue could affect the city.
With more than 1,500 employees, RMC is one of the region’s largest employers.