Empire coverage resumes at 3 hospitals
Deal to end long impasse takes effect in Kingston, Margaretville
The two HealthAlliance hospitals in Kingston and the one in Delaware County started providing “in-network” care to Empire BlueCross BlueShield clients on Friday for the first time in 15 months as a long contract dispute formally came to an end.
Empire members had been denied insurance coverage for inpatient services at HealthAlliance’s Broadway and Mary’s Avenue campuses in Kingston and Margaretville Memorial Hospital in Delaware County since June 1, 2016, after the last contract between the hospital company and the insurer expired. Emergency room visits continued to be covered.
A new deal finally was reached this past July 31, with the sides agreeing to a Sept. 1 start date. HealthAlliance’s parent company, Westchester Medical Center Health Network, and Empire BlueCross BlueShield have de-
scribed the deal as a “multiyear agreement” but have not said how long it will be in effect.
“Empire BlueCross BlueShield members can now go to HealthAlliance to get the great care they expect, with the doctors they trust, in their home county, where they want to get care,” HealthAlliance President and Chief Executive Officer David Scarpinop said in a prepared statement Friday.
“We couldn’t be happier,” he said.
Both the city of Kingston and Ulster County provide health insurance to their employees through Empire BlueCross BlueShield. County Executive Michael Hein was outspoken about his frustration with the impasse between the hospitals and the insurer, and at one point he said he was considering seeking different coverage for county workers.
Amid the impasse, local Empire clients needing inpatient services had to go to a hospital outside of Kingston in order for the insurer to cover their costs.
The dispute ultimately ended up in court, and it was during that process that the sides agreed to the mediation that resolved the matter.