At BayCare, we believe every patient deserves access to high-quality health care from the doctors, nurses and hospitals they trust. We have a long history of working with Florida Blue and other health insurance companies to prioritize patient needs and guarantee access to essential care. Our goal in reaching a new agreement with Florida Blue is to protect patients’ ability to continue choosing the hospitals, laboratory services, physicians and providers they know and trust. If Florida Blue does not agree to a new contract with BayCare, Florida Blue will no longer consider our hospitals, laboratory services or BayCare Medical Group physicians and providers part of their network, beginning October 1, 2022.
Protecting Access and Choice
BayCare’s Goals:
Protect patients’ ability to choose and access the high-quality care offered by our physicians and providers at our hospitals and facilities.
Avoid disruption for patients insured through Florida Blue.
Continue delivering on our mission to provide high-quality care now and in the future.
Florida Blue’s Position:
Unwilling to commit to a responsible new agreement that prioritizes patient access.
Florida Blue’s proposed rates do not reflect today’s reality of the cost to attract and retain high-quality team members who provide extraordinary care for our patients. In the past three years, labor and supply costs have risen substantially. Last year, it cost 20% more to care for each patient than before the pandemic. And costs have increased more in 2022.
Insurers like Florida Blue are shifting the cost of care to patients by demanding higher premiums and deductibles. Patients often find that, even though they pay high monthly premiums for health insurance, their insurance company still requires them to shoulder a large portion of their cost of care.
If Florida Blue removes BayCare from its network, Florida Blue-insured patients will no longer have in-network access to the high-quality care BayCare team members provide. For the patients and communities we serve, that will mean:
Limited access to our 15 hospitals and other facilities
Being forced to choose other doctors or travel greater distances to receive care
Potentially higher out-of-pocket costs for care
If Florida Blue is unwilling to work with BayCare on a new contract, our agreement for commercial and Medicare Advantage plans will end on September 30, 2022.
BayCare strongly desires to continue caring for patients with Florida Blue insurance. We are simply asking Florida Blue to agree to a contract that puts patients first and allows us to continue fulfilling our mission of providing high-quality, compassionate care to all we serve.
What You Can Do
Remember nothing changes before October 1, 2022.
Keep all your scheduled appointments and procedures with BayCare, and don’t delay routine health screenings, procedures or tests important to your health.
Call Florida Blue at the number on the back of your insurance card and urge them to work with BayCare on a new agreement.
If you receive your insurance through your employer, talk to your Human Resources or Benefits Department and urge them to contact Florida Blue.
Click here to view the list of insurance companies with which BayCare contracts.