Surgeons Nix St. Bernards Partnership
by October 25, 2004 12:00 am 281 views
Dr. Kenneth Tonymon spent 18 years at St. Bernards Medical Center in Jonesboro. But that ended on Sept. 11 when he and three other neurosurgeons from Neurosurgical Associates of Northeast Arkansas.
Tonymon said they had no other choice because they feared that the hospital, which had imposed an unexplained 14-day suspension of their privileges on Sept. 3, would permanently suspended them and mar their professional standing.
Tonymon said the hospital is upset because in August, the group told administrators that it would no longer offer free, unlimited coverage for unassigned patients in the hospital’s emergency room. But the group was open to negotiations.
What also might have strained the relationship was that the doctors owned a percentage of the competing 12-bed Surgical Hospital of Jonesboro, which opened in September 2003.
“No, that’s not it at all,” said Valerie Fielder, St. Bernards’ spokeswoman. “They had every opportunity to remain on staff, and they chose not to do that.”
Chris B. Barber, the administrator for St. Bernards, said in a statement the hospital has hired a neurosurgeon and expects to hire another one soon.
Since the doctors’ announcement, another neurosurgeon who shared call with them at St. Bernards, Dr. Robert Abraham, withdrew his privileges.
And because the doctors pulled out of St. Bernards, their group is now not a part of Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield’s PPO network. It is also no longer in the HMO product of Health Advantage or its PPO, which is FirstScource. And it is no longer a member of Sharp, which is St. Bernards’ physician provider organization.
“We were told because we’re not a part of St. Bernards anymore, we’re out of those organizations, ” said Tresa Sauthier, Neurosurgical Associates’ CEO.
So now patients who have been coming to Neurosurgical Associates for years will have to pay a higher out-of-network amount to see their doctors.
Tonymon said his hope now is that ABCBS will have to open its managed care networks under the state’s long-dormant “any willing provider law.” The issue is currently on appeal, but if the law goes into place, patients will no longer have to pay a premium to use an out-of-network doctor or hospital.