Posted: Friday, January 31, 2014, 3:44 pm
Piedmont Healthcare has reached agreement with Aetna/Coventry on a new three-year contract. Under the agreement, Aetna/Coventry members will continue to receive covered benefits, at in-network rates, from five hospitals within Piedmont Healthcare (Piedmont Atlanta Hospital, Piedmont Fayette Hospital, Piedmont Mountainside Hospital, Piedmont Newnan Hospital and Piedmont Henry Hospital) and the affiliated outpatient centers/services.
Members also will have access to the more than 1,000 physicians in the Piedmont Physicians Group, Piedmont Heart Institute and Piedmont Clinic.
“Throughout negotiations, we remained committed to ensuring our patients who are members of the Aetna and Coventry insurance networks continue to have access to Piedmont’s high quality healthcare services through choice of our physicians and hospitals,” said Greg Hurst, chief operating officer for Piedmont Healthcare.
Posted: Monday, January 20, 2014, 3:45 pm
We remain optimistic and committed to reaching an agreement with Aetna/Coventry before Jan. 31.
This is the most current information. Updates will be posted as soon as they are available. If you have questions about coverage,Aetna/Coventry can best answer them. The phone number is 770-346-4300.If you have difficulty getting answers from Aetna/Coventry, our Customer Service and Patient Liability office may be able to help. You can reach them at (toll free) 1-855-788-1212 or customerservice@piedmont.org.
Posted: Monday, January 13, 2014, 4:10 pm
The following letter was mailed to Piedmont’s Aetna/Coventry patients on Jan. 13, 2014.
Dear Piedmont Patient,
Over the past several weeks, Piedmont Healthcare has been negotiating in good faith with Aetna/Coventry for a new agreement, to be effective February 1, 2014. Our current contract expires on January 31. This agreement would include Piedmont Hospital, Piedmont Fayette Hospital, Piedmont Mountainside Hospital, Piedmont Newnan Hospital, Piedmont Henry Hospital and the more than 1,000 physicians who make up the Piedmont Physicians Group, Piedmont Heart Institute Physicians and Piedmont Clinic.
Hospitals and healthcare systems renegotiate contracts with health insurance companies all the time, and it is not unusual for an agreement to be reached at the last minute. While there is no cause for great alarm at this time, it is important that you have the facts. We are working diligently to renegotiate this contract on behalf of our five hospitals and physicians without creating undue anxiety or worry for our patients.
Our negotiations with Aetna/Coventry are to ensure access to the best hospitals and physicians in the community for our patients who are enrolled with Aetna/Coventry, choice for consumers, quality care, and a fair and equitable contract. Piedmont Healthcare has a reputation for top quality care and good stewardship of our resources. We believe continued negotiations by both parties in good faith will result in a resolution that serves the best interests of our patients and our physicians.
We are optimistic about completing negotiations and reaching agreement within the next few weeks. However, if the contract expires, Aetna/Coventry will be forcing HMO members to find new doctors, and both HMO and PPO patients with Aetna/Coventry may incur higher out-of-pocket costs for care they receive at Piedmont hospitals and with Piedmont physicians as out-of-network providers, beginning February 1, 2014.
Should you be scheduling services with a Piedmont provider (physicians or hospitals) after January 31, 2014, you may have difficulty obtaining authorization from Aetna/Coventry before a new contract is executed. Negotiations are underway to ensure your continued access to care at Piedmont.
Piedmont hospitals and physicians have served residents of the greater Atlanta area for 108 years, and we know you count on us for your healthcare needs. We take that responsibility very seriously and currently have contracts with all other major health insurers in Georgia, including CIGNA, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia, United Healthcare, Humana, Kaiser Permanente and others. These contracts allow us to provide the quality care the community deserves and to ensure that the same level of quality will be here tomorrow.
Thank you for entrusting your care to Piedmont providers.
Please visit piedmont.org for the latest information on our negotiations with Aetna. It is our goal to ensure that your access to Piedmont care is uninterrupted by these negotiations.
Sincerely,
Gregory A. Hurst
Chief Operating Officer