It's apparently not enough that North Carolina's Blue Cross franchise has been taking major poundings; it now appears that the reverberations are affecting providers in an even more direct way:
"[T]he many medical practices and clinics not getting paid by the insurance giant. Some of them are on the brink of shutting down."
When you have a virtual monopoly in terms of insurance coverage, and you stop paying the bills (whether by design or not) then providers are left holding the bag. After all, their creditors don't care a whit about whether or not Blue Cross has computer and/or personnel issues. They want to be paid.
Now.
And it's not just "the little guys." One major surgicenter is on the hook for over three quarters of a million dollars, with no end in sight.
Me thinks it's going to get uglier still.
UPDATE: It occurs to me that, ultimately, these providerscan will just go back to the patients themselves for the missing funds. Granted: blood, turnip, some assembly required. But even a few shekels may make the difference between staying open and shutting down.
[Hat Tip: FoIB Jeff M]
"[T]he many medical practices and clinics not getting paid by the insurance giant. Some of them are on the brink of shutting down."
When you have a virtual monopoly in terms of insurance coverage, and you stop paying the bills (whether by design or not) then providers are left holding the bag. After all, their creditors don't care a whit about whether or not Blue Cross has computer and/or personnel issues. They want to be paid.
Now.
And it's not just "the little guys." One major surgicenter is on the hook for over three quarters of a million dollars, with no end in sight.
Me thinks it's going to get uglier still.
UPDATE: It occurs to me that, ultimately, these providers
[Hat Tip: FoIB Jeff M]