East End Health Alliance’s Participation in the Oxford Network

9/15 Contract signed at final hour….Update as of 9/13/11 still no contract….expiration date for cooling off period is 9/14/11 still crossing my fingers….Hamptons MouthPiece…”we do the talking for you” Greetings Friends, are you a member of the United Healthcare Oxford insurance group? If you are, then you may want to continue reading….Our health insurance carrier is Oxford and I received a letter from our carrier informing us that their relationship with EEHA (EAst End Health Alliance) was terminated on July 15, 2011…..I continued reading to find out what does this mean to us. Apparently EEHA and UHO could not come to an agreement and therefore the agreement was ended..According to NYS law there is a 2 month cooling off period which takes us to 9/14…If no agreement has been settled by this time effective September 15, 2011, care for an emergency illness, injury or condition will be treated as in-network care at any hospital. However, you may be transferred to an in-network hospital once your condition stabilizes. If you choose to stay at one of the EEHA facilities which include (Southampton Hospital, Eastern LI Hospital in Riverhead and Peconic Bay Medical Center) you will incur out-of-network cost and if you do not have out-of-network coverage you will be denied treatment. It is important that you speak with your carrier to discuss how this will affect you…I remember a couple of years ago this happened with Oxford and the EEHA and thank goodness it was settled…last year the same issues occurred with Blue Cross/Blueshield and in the final hours it was settled. Lets just hope that we are so lucky, because friends if this agreement is not settled this could be a nightmare for those of us with this healthcare carrier. It could mean having to drive nearly 50 miles if you need x-rays done, or simple procedures, mammograms and etc…

I spoke to my insurance carrier Oxford this morning and as of today there has been no agreement…The east end hospitals are notorious for waiting until the very last minute to renew a contract, they did this last year with Blue Cross Blue Shield and with Oxford in 2008..I am crossing my fingers and hoping and praying for a good outcome….as  always Hamptons Mouthpiece, we do the talking for you…’til next time….have a great week..