Mississippi News
Blue Cross, UMMC: No developments in dispute
<h1>Nearly four months in, still no developments in mediation between UMMC and Blue Cross</h1>
<p class=”byline”>by Will Stribling, Mississippi Today <br>September 20, 2022</p>
<p>The contract dispute between the state’s largest insurer and hospital is still not resolved more than three months after the two parties began mediation proceedings.</p>
<p>Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi and University of Mississippi Medical Center have been locked in a <a href=”https://mississippitoday.org/2022/03/09/contract-dispute-mississippi-medical-center-blue-cross/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>dispute</a> over reimbursement rates throughout 2022. The Medical Center <a href=”https://mississippitoday.org/2022/04/01/ummc-goes-out-of-network-with-blue-cross-blue-shield/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>went out of network</a> with Blue Cross on March 31, and since then, thousands of Mississippians have been forced to take on <a href=”https://mississippitoday.org/2022/06/30/blue-cross-ummc-dispute-breaking-point/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>higher out-of-pocket costs</a> for their health care or <a href=”https://mississippitoday.org/2022/08/17/mississippian-gets-new-liver-after-insurance-dispute-forced-him-to-get-care-out-of-state/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>leave the state</a> for certain specialty care.</p>
<p>The two parties agreed to utilize a mediation process to settle the dispute in April after Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney urged them to do so. </p>
<p>“The commissioner (Mike Chaney) is certainly very hopeful that the parties can make great progress, if not find a resolution, by early June,” Mark Haire, deputy commissioner of insurance, told Mississippi Today in early May.</p>
<p>Evidently, that hope was misplaced. </p>
<p>Patrice Guilfoyle, director of communications at UMMC, told Mississippi Today on Tuesday that there’s “no update at this point” on mediation proceedings. Blue Cross did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication. </p>
<p>Chaney told Mississippi Today he has not had any contact with either party or the mediator relating to mediation since before Sept. 5. Under<a href=”https://www.sos.ms.gov/adminsearch/ACCode/00000306c.pdf” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”> state agency rules</a>, Chaney is not allowed to directly mediate or help settle disputes over contacts between insurance companies and health care providers. </p>
<p>There is no requirement the two parties come to an agreement.</p>
<p>A <a href=”https://mississippitoday.org/2022/07/01/chaney-announces-blue-cross-review/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>targeted market conduct examination</a> of Blue Cross that Chaney ordered on July 1 is ongoing. The examination is to determine whether the insurer is in compliance with the state’s network adequacy regulations since UMMC provides specialty care that cannot be found elsewhere in Mississippi.</p>
<p>Chaney told Mississippi Today on Tuesday that the network adequacy review is nearly complete but cannot be finished until UMMC provides his office with materials that have been subpoenaed.</p>
<p>“It (the network adequacy review) will probably be surprising to a lot of folks,” Chaney said.</p>
<p>Blue Cross <a href=”https://mississippitoday.org/2022/07/28/blue-cross-sues-top-ummc-officials-over-pr-campaign/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>sued</a> top UMMC employees on July 28 over the public relations campaign the hospital has been waging against the insurer due to their contract dispute. The insurer claims the campaign was “designed to disseminate false and defamatory statements about Blue Cross to the public.” </p>
<p>In advertisements and public statements made by employees, the claim was made that the insurer “excluded” UMMC from its network of providers, though it was UMMC who voluntarily allowed its contract with Blue Cross to expire. </p>
<p>It is unclear how that lawsuit has impacted the progress of mediation proceedings. </p>
<p>This <a target=”_blank” href=”https://mississippitoday.org/2022/09/20/no-developments-in-mediation-ummc-and-blue-cross/”>article</a> first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https://mississippitoday.org”>Mississippi Today</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<img src=”https://i0.wp.com/mississippitoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/MT_square-thumb.jpg?fit=150%2C150&ssl=1″ style=”width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;”><img id=”republication-tracker-tool-source” src=”https://mississippitoday.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=1082095&ga=UA-75003810-1″ style=”width:1px;height:1px;”></p>
Mississippi News
LIVE: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs guilty of prostitution-related offense
SUMMARY: Sean “Diddy” Combs was found guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution but acquitted of racketeering and sex trafficking charges after a seven-week trial. The jury convicted him of flying people, including girlfriends and paid sex workers, across the country for sexual encounters, violating the federal Mann Act. However, they did not find sufficient evidence for racketeering conspiracy or sex trafficking. The prosecution portrayed Combs as the head of a criminal enterprise exploiting women, while the defense argued the women were consenting adults and the charges exaggerated his lifestyle. The trial included testimonies from former partners and lasted 13 hours of jury deliberation.
The post LIVE: Sean 'Diddy' Combs guilty of prostitution-related offense appeared first on www.wjtv.com
Mississippi News
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The post Defendant in Mississippi auditor’s ‘second largest’ embezzlement case in history goes free appeared first on www.wjtv.com
Mississippi News
Events happening this weekend in Mississippi: June 27-29
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The post Events happening this weekend in Mississippi: June 27-29 appeared first on www.wjtv.com
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