Geary County Hospital Plans to Suspend BC/BS
Geary County Hospital Plans to Suspend BC/BS Save Email Print
Posted: 11:11 PM Sep 24, 2008
 Last Updated: 11:11 PM Sep 24, 2008
13 comments
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Geary Community Hospital patients may not be able to use Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas soon.

The hospital says it is negotiating with Blue Cross and Blue Shield to improve reimbursement. Hospital officials say they can't continue to offer quality care and better technology with BC/BS "underpaying for its clients' healthcare."

BC/BS will send subscribers letters saying the hospital will be opting out of the provider network effective December 31st.
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Posted by: Kevin Location: Abilene on Sep 29, 2008 at 03:09 PM
I have a friend that has to forgo major surgery now because of this. The one getting the shaft here is the patient.
Posted by: Jolly Location: Junction City, Kansas on Sep 27, 2008 at 12:02 PM
$860,000 for a year lease on a CT Scanner, 5 top level administrative positions for a small hospital, another $30,000-50,000 plus for a lawn sprinkler system and grass, overpriced pictures on the wall by the physician recruiter's sister, the CEO creating a well paying position for his daughter, an elaborate visual hospital makeover, inability of administration to grasp economic factors.....Ha! Somebody has to fund this. Looks like they took lessons from wall street and the fed.
Posted by: Anonymous Location: KS on Sep 26, 2008 at 04:43 PM
This might also have to do with the fact that GCH is big into the gastric bypass surgery and BCBS won't pay for it.
Posted by: susan Location: junction city on Sep 26, 2008 at 09:04 AM
GCH is a joke. The doctors are pathetic...so...no great loss for the folks of JC to go elsewhere for medical care. The reason the hospital doesn't have money is because of all the welfare recepients that go to the hospital everytime they sneeze. Like I said...no great loss
Posted by: Hometown resident Location: Junction City on Sep 25, 2008 at 05:13 PM
Since we now have a $34 million bandaid station here in our town, this is all the more reason for us to travel to other communities for our quality healthcare because you do not receive it at GCH. They think they had lost revenues before, wait until after January 1, 2009.
Posted by: Anonymous Location: Junction City on Sep 25, 2008 at 03:43 PM
I find it hard to believe that other major hospitals in the area can accept the amounts BCBS pays and remain operating but GCH can't. It is the policy holders who will either suffer or be forced to go to Manhattan. In the end who will loose the most and who will pay for GCH's new and continued expansion? "Build it...will they come???"
Posted by: Geary Location: County on Sep 25, 2008 at 02:53 PM
The hospital just expanded. They are suffering financially b/c of the drop in number of clients/patients. When is someone going to look at the "quality" of care as a reason people are going elsewhere? I know I prefer Manhattan doctors/hopsital/care because of how I have been treated there (or not if the case may be) and I have heard the same from others who are established members of the community. Now, one of the major health insurances used by agencies in this area is being dropped. How is that going to help the hospital financially? And how many more people are you going to lose because of this? When does the patient come first? It hasn't there in service, it hasn't there in cost.... what else? So much for your new facility.
Posted by: anonymous healthcare worker Location: emporia on Sep 25, 2008 at 12:08 PM
I doubt seriously ANY hospital is excited with BC/BS allowances (which by the way are usually LESS than 50% of the charge). By far MOST rural hospitals are operating in the red so "getting greedy" is more like trying to survive. Payment from insurers stays flat or decreases while we all know everything else (labor, utilities, regulatory requirements, equipment) skyrockets. The only ones making money at this are the insurance company executives. Now they are threatening to take your hospital out of the network so you will pressure GCH to toe the line and take whatever they can get.
Posted by: anonymous Location: topeka on Sep 25, 2008 at 11:41 AM
The charges from the Hospitals and what your insurance pays is listed on the summaries.
Posted by: Anonymous on Sep 25, 2008 at 10:48 AM
Why don't they ever tell us what the cost of procedures are and what the health care insurance pays. Then we can decide for ourselfs who is out of line.
Posted by: todd Location: ne kansas on Sep 25, 2008 at 10:38 AM
the hospitals are so greedy. bcbs is not "under paying", they are paying the appropriate amounts for the services given. this move will hurt the policy holders of bcbs in the beginning, but overall will hurt the hospital in the long run with lost revenues.
Posted by: Anonymous on Sep 25, 2008 at 10:18 AM
That is BS. Health care does'nt cost as much as they would like us to beleive. Do you really beleive it cost over 1,000.00 everytime they fire up an MRI machine?
Posted by: Mechelle Location: Topeka on Sep 25, 2008 at 10:14 AM
Sounds like greed to me... what ever happened to putting people first??? With the exception of 2 other hospitals, the rest of the hospitals in the whole State of Kansas seem to think that the amounts are fair.