Contract Negotiations in Olympia

From The Olympian (WA):

About 21,000 state employees and dependents in Thurston County will be warned by mail today that their Uniform Medical Plan insurance won’t cover as much of the cost as it previously did for an emergency room visit at Providence St. Peter Hospital.

At issue is a breakdown in contract talks between the state Health Care Authority, which administers the Uniform Medical Plan, and a group of physicians who staff the Olympia hospital’s emergency room under a separate contract with the hospital.

Because the insurance agreement lapsed Dec. 31 and no new “network” or preferred provider contract has been set, patients could find they’re charged more than would be allowed under the agreement Uniform Medical Plan previously had with the doctors, state officials said Thursday.