{"id":377915,"date":"2026-04-02T07:40:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T07:40:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/377915\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T07:40:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T07:40:14","slug":"memorial-hermann-now-out-of-network-for-blue-cross-patients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/377915\/","title":{"rendered":"Memorial Hermann now out of network for Blue Cross patients"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Thousands of Houston patients could pay more or be forced to switch doctors after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.houstonchronicle.com\/health\/article\/memorial-hermann-voluntary-buyouts-21336508.php\" data-link=\"native\" class=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Memorial Hermann Health System<\/a> and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas failed to agree to a new contract.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The health system is no longer in network for Blue Cross Blue Shield commercial and Blue Advantage Marketplace plans after the sides could not agree to terms by an April 1 deadline, Memorial Hermann said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, many patients with Blue Cross Blue Shield plans will need to pay higher out-of-pocket costs for medical services at Memorial Hermann. The health system includes 14 hospitals and hundreds of doctors\u2019 offices and clinics in the Houston area.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Certain patients, such as those who are pregnant or being treated for a disability, acute condition or life-threatening illness, may still be eligible for in-network rates at Memorial Hermann. Those patients should fill out a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bcbstx.com\/docs\/forms\/provider\/tx\/transitional-care-request-tx.pdf\" data-link=\"native\" class=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">continuity of care request form<\/a> or call the phone number on their insurance card, the health system said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Memorial Hermann accused the insurer of asking for \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/memorialhermann.org\/about-us\/bcbstx-negotiations\" data-link=\"native\" class=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">unreasonable demands<\/a>\u201d and dragging out talks until the April 1 deadline as a negotiating tactic. The reimbursement rates and contract language that Blue Cross Blue Shield proposed during negotiations \u201cignore the financial realities facing health systems today,\u201d Memorial Hermann said in its statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will not prioritize a for-profit insurer\u2019s bottom line over the best interests of our patients, providers, employers and employees,\u201d Memorial Hermann said in the statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Memorial Hermann accused Blue Cross Blue Shield of employing similar tactics in contract talks with health systems across the United States, including several in Texas.<\/p>\n<p>Hospitals and insurers routinely negotiate contracts that set reimbursement rates for medical services. But those talks have become more contentious as health care costs have risen in recent years, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/health\/health-news\/hospitals-insurers-dispute-contract-patients-lurch-rcna258248\" data-link=\"native\" class=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">according to NBC News<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thousands of Houston patients could pay more or be forced to switch doctors after Memorial Hermann Health System&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":377916,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[169134,103,397,396,61,60],"class_list":{"0":"post-377915","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-hc-virus","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-health-care","11":"tag-healthcare","12":"tag-ie","13":"tag-ireland"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=377915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377915\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/377916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=377915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=377915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=377915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}