Mississippi News
Blue Cross sues top UMMC officials
Blue Cross sues top UMMC officials over PR campaign
Blue Cross filed a lawsuit in Rankin County's circuit court on Thursday against UMMC employees LouAnn Woodward, Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and Dean of the School of Medicine, Alan Jones, Associate Vice Chancellor for Clinical Affairs, Marc Rolph, Executive Director of Communications and Marketing, and other unnamed UMMC employees.
Rolph declined to comment on the lawsuit.
UMMC itself is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit because state law grants UMMC immunity for defamation committed by its employees.
UMMC has been out of network with Blue Cross, the state's largest insurer, since April 1 due to disagreements over reimbursement rates and Blue Cross' quality care plan. Since then, UMMC has spent nearly $279,000 on digital ads, commercials and billboards attacking the insurer.
In the lawsuit, Blue Cross alleges that the public relations campaign was “designed to disseminate false and defamatory statements about Blue Cross to the public.”
Blue Cross' major issue with the campaign's advertisements and various public statements the defendant's have made is that they allege Blue Cross ended its contract with UMMC and the insurer has “excluded” UMMC from its network of providers as a result. Since UMMC voluntarily ended its contracts with Blue Cross, the insurer claims UMMC's campaign is defamatory and has harmed its reputation and business.
Blue Cross has continued to offer network level reimbursement rates for its customers that seek care at UMMC, but the hospital has refused to accept those payments. Due to this refusal and UMMC being the party that ended their relationship, Blue Cross says it is UMMC who is preventing the insurer's customers from receiving care at the medical center.
The insurer also claims in the lawsuit that other public comments UMMC officials have made related to the contract dispute are false. One such claim is that Blue Cross has not increased its reimbursement rates to UMMC since 2018. While UMMC claims the only increase it has received in recent years is a 1% increase in 2018, Blue Cross claims it has increased reimbursement rates every year since then. Since all financial agreements between the two parties are confidential, Mississippi Today is unable to verify the claims of either party on this issue.
Another claim Blue Cross says is false is that UMMC was not responsible for removing transplant patients insured by Blue Cross from their transplant lists.
According to Blue Cross, a transplant patient was scheduled to have their surgery during this grace period, but the hospital canceled the procedure. In another instance, the parents of a pediatric transplant patient were advised to seek their child's care out-of-state. Both patients eventually received that surgery “only after Blue Cross vigorously challenged UMMC's actions.” The insurer claims that other instances like these have occurred.
Mississippi Today has previously reported on transplant patients who have been forced to seek their care out-of-state. Others have been unable to get estimates of how much their surgeries would cost from UMMC or Blue Cross as required by federal law.
Blue Cross is seeking an injunction against the continued publication and dissemination of the statements it considers defamatory as well as monetary damages from each of the defendants.
Read the full complaint here:
Editor's note: UMMC, through an ad agency, has placed paid advertisements about the BCBS dispute on Mississippi Today's website. Advertisers have no input in the editorial process.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi News
Ole Miss men’s basketball continues to add from transfer portal
SUMMARY: Ole Miss men's basketball had a successful first season under coach Chris Beard, reaching 20 wins but missing the NCAA Tournament. The team added four players from the transfer portal, including Davon Barnes, Dre Davis, Malik Dia, and Mikeal Brown-Jones. Barnes, a guard from Sam Houston, averaged 13.5 points last season. Davis, a guard from Seton Hall, averaged 15 points. Dia, a forward from Belmont, averaged 16.8 points. Brown-Jones, a forward from UNC-Greensboro, averaged 18.9 points. The additions provide depth and talent to the team for the upcoming season.
The post Ole Miss men's basketball continues to add from transfer portal appeared first on www.wcbi.com
Mississippi News
Family of Dau Mabil wants answers after his body is found in Pearl River
SUMMARY: The body of Dau Mabil was found in the Pearl River in Lawrence County, Mississippi. His brother expressed disbelief and devastation over the situation. There is disagreement between the family and authorities over the circumstances of Dau's disappearance. An independent autopsy was granted, and U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson requested a federal investigation. Jackson leaders expressed support for the family and the Capitol police are leading the investigation with assistance from the Jackson Police Department. Police have not found evidence of foul play, but further testing is pending. The family's attorneys are urging a thorough investigation into the case.
The post Family of Dau Mabil wants answers after his body is found in Pearl River appeared first on www.wjtv.com
Mississippi News
Willis Miller sentenced to 45 years in prison, mandatory
SUMMARY: Willis Miller was sentenced to 45 years in prison for killing Paisley “Gabby” Frazier while drinking and driving. Frazier died in an ATV crash, and another child was injured. The incident occurred in April 2022 and Miller was found guilty of aggravated DUI and aggravated assault. Frazier's mother, Caprice Thompson, expressed relief at the sentencing but acknowledged the pain of losing her daughter. District Attorney Scott Colom emphasized the seriousness of drinking and driving, noting Miller was driving 97 miles per hour on the wrong side of the road. Thompson hopes the case serves as a warning about the dangers of drinking and driving.
The post Willis Miller sentenced to 45 years in prison, mandatory appeared first on www.wcbi.com
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