Contract Discussions

Independence Blue Cross and its affiliates (IBC) are committed to providing its members continued access to quality, affordable health care through a broad, cost-effective network of health care providers comprised of 121 hospitals and 34,000 physicians.

The hospitals, physicians, and other health care providers with whom we contract are central to our ability to serve customers and contain costs.

We know how much our members value their important relationship with their physicians and other health care providers so we want to keep you up to date on contract discussions.

Below you will find a short summary of where we stand with current negotiations. If there is a change to the status of the contracts mentioned below, this page will be updated. Please check back regularly.

Women’s Health Care Group

Independence Blue Cross and Women’s Health Care Group of PA have signed a five-year contract. As a result, Women’s Health Care Group of PA and its affiliated providers will remain in our network of participating providers; there will be no interruption of in-network services to the group’s patients and our members.

We thank our members and customers for their patience and understanding during the negotiations. If you have any questions, please feel free to call Member Services at the number on your ID card.

Gastrointestinal Associates, Inc.

Gastrointestinal Associates, Inc. has terminated its contract with us as of July 1, 2008. As a result, Gastrointestinal Associates and its affiliated physicians are no longer participating physicians in our provider network. The group provides gastrointestinal services through three office locations in Bucks and Montgomery counties.

Our reimbursement arrangements are fair and competitive. Based on the mix of services provided by Gastrointestinal Associates, overall, we pay substantially more than the equivalent level of reimbursement from Medicare. However, we regret that Gastrointestinal Associates, Inc. has decided to terminate its contract with us as a means of pressuring us to pay them more.

If you have any questions or need help finding another participating gastrointestinal specialist in our network, you may call Member Services at the number on your ID card or at 1-800-ASK BLUE.

We thank our members and customers for their patience and understanding during this period of Gastrointestinal Associates’ transition to a non-participating provider in our network.