Issues Surround Use Of County Insurance At Saint Luke’s Facilities

Representatives of the health insurance carrier for Grundy County employees met with the county commission on Tuesday in an effort to explain issues the employees are having with using the insurance at Wright Memorial Hospital and other Saint Luke’s Health System facilities.
Ron Koehly of Koehly-Baker Insurance of Chillicothe and Dale Phillips of Colonial, the supplemental “bridge” insurance company used by the county, met with the commission following reports that, as of Sept. 1, Saint Luke’s Health System is no longer an in-network provider of services through Lifestyles, the county’s insurance carrier, and in some cases, is not accepting the insurance at all.
Koehly indicated that the issue appears to be “all a big misunderstanding” and said that “hundreds of thousands of people are going to Saint Luke’s in Kansas City every day” and are in network and having their insurance accepted. He did admit, however, that as of Tuesday, those calling a Saint Luke’s hospital or clinic and inquiring as to whether or not they are an in-network provider, may be told that they are not. He said the issue is really between Saint Luke’s and Aetna, which handles First Health Network, the network used by Lifestyles. According to Grundy County Clerk Betty Spickard, Lifestyles is the parent company of Medova, which is where the county’s insurance premiums are sent.
The commission is concerned that those using Saint Luke’s and are being billed for out-of-network services that are not covered may have those bills turned over to collections while the issue is being resolved.
At Tuesday’s meeting, which was held at 2 p.m., Presiding Commissioner Phil Ray asked Koehly to put the explanation for the issue and steps being taken to resolve it in a letter, on company letterhead, to be sent to all employees who participate in the county’s health insurance. He also asked that Koehly provide an update on the progress of the resolution within seven days. Koehly contacted Mrs. Spickard around 4 p.m. Tuesday, indicating that the company will be switching to a different network of providers, PHCS, retroactive to Sept. 1. Mrs. Spickard said Koehly indicated he will be emailing a letter to her that will be distributed to all county employees who participate in the insurance program. Employees will also be receiving a new insurance card that will indicate that the provider network is PHCS.