{"id":229929,"date":"2026-04-01T08:24:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T08:24:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/229929\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T08:24:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T08:24:24","slug":"thousands-of-houston-patients-urged-to-check-coverage-as-blue-cross-blue-shield-memorial-hermann-contract-deadline-near","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/229929\/","title":{"rendered":"Thousands of Houston patients urged to check coverage as Blue Cross Blue Shield, Memorial Hermann contract deadline near"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thousands of Houston-area patients with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) insurance may soon need to double-check whether their health plan will cover care at Memorial Hermann facilities, as negotiations continue on a new contract with a looming deadline.<\/p>\n

If the two sides can\u2019t reach an agreement by the end of Tuesday, March 31, 2026, Memorial Hermann hospitals, facilities and affiliated providers could become out-of-network for certain BCBSTX plans.<\/p>\n

What \u201cout-of-network\u201d could mean for patients<\/p>\n

If Memorial Hermann becomes out-of-network, patients could see:<\/p>\n

Higher co-pays<\/p>\n

Higher deductible costs<\/p>\n

Unexpected medical bills, depending on the plan\u2019s rules and benefits<\/p>\n

It could also disrupt continuity of care, especially for people who are:<\/p>\n

In the middle of treatment<\/p>\n

Pregnant<\/p>\n

Managing a disability, acute condition, or life-threatening illness<\/p>\n

Scheduled for an upcoming procedure<\/p>\n

In those situations, patients may have to determine whether they can keep their current doctor and location of care or move to another provider that remains in-network.<\/p>\n

A similar situation unfolded in 2022<\/a>, when the contract expired at the end of February. Negotiations continued after that deadline, and the organizations later announced a four-year agreement that restored in-network access for patients.<\/p>\n

What you can do right now<\/p>\n

Patients don\u2019t have to wait until they\u2019re at a doctor\u2019s office to find out what their coverage will be.<\/p>\n

Here are immediate steps to take:<\/p>\n

Call the number on the back of your insurance ID card and ask what your options are if Memorial Hermann becomes out-of-network.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re pregnant or have a disability, acute condition, or life-threatening illness, ask about \u201ccontinuity of care.\u201d<\/p>\n

You may qualify to keep receiving care at in-network rates for a limited time, but you typically must apply.<\/p>\n

Check your plan\u2019s provider directory to confirm which Memorial Hermann locations and doctors are covered under your specific plan.<\/p>\n

If you have appointments coming up, call your doctor\u2019s office and ask what they recommend if the network status changes.<\/p>\n

Memorial Hermann released the following statement regarding the situation: <\/p>\n

\u201cDespite nearly eight months of our best efforts to negotiate fair and reasonable terms, we have yet to reach an agreement with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas. This comes as little surprise, given Blue Cross Blue Shield\u2019s national and statewide playbook of asking for unreasonable demands while dragging out negotiations to the last minute. This approach ignores the financial realities facing health systems and health care providers today, jeopardizes continuity of care and creates unnecessary anxiety for the patients and families who depend on us for their care. We remain committed to serving the Greater Houston community and urge Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas to negotiate a good faith proposal that values patients, respects caregivers and preserves their members\u2019 access to care.\u201d<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thousands of Houston-area patients with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) insurance may soon need to double-check…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":229930,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[88907,2244,56,58,57,4061,25933,27],"class_list":{"0":"post-229929","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-blue-cross-blue-shield","9":"tag-healthcare","10":"tag-houston","11":"tag-houston-headlines","12":"tag-houston-news","13":"tag-insurance","14":"tag-memorial-hermann","15":"tag-texas"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=229929"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229929\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/229930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=229929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=229929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=229929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}