LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- People with Humana health insurance will regain in-network access to Baptist Health System doctors starting April 1 after a roughly six-month stalemate between the two Louisville-based health giants.
Baptist, the statewide health care provider, and Humana, the Fortune 50 insurer, announced the agreement Thursday.
"We are committed to improving the health of our communities and our goal is to ensure every patient gets the high-quality, timely care needed," said Dr. Isaac J. Myers II, Baptist's chief health integration officer and president of its physician practice group, the Baptist Health Medical Group. "This agreement with Humana helps us achieve this goal, and ensures continued access to Baptist Health providers, hospitals and clinics."
Eric Bohannon, Humana's regional president of Medicare, said in a statement that the talks were "productive."
"Throughout the negotiations, each side has recognized the responsibility we both have to provide our members and patients throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky with high-quality care that is affordable and accessible," Bohannon said in the statement.
The agreement applies to Humana's Medicare Advantage plan members and to those with Humana commercial insurance, though the insurer announced last year that it would gradually exit commercial plans altogether.
The dispute has caused disruptions for people who had longstanding relationships with Baptist doctors and were forced to either incur higher "out of network" bills or to switch to other doctors in Humana's network.
The Baptist-Humana dispute related only to Baptist's physicians, not its hospitals.
On Jan. 1, Baptist also went out of network with Medicare Advantage plans run by United Healthcare and Wellcare. It wasn't immediately clear the status of those disputes.
