Scott Williams, swilliams@wolfrivermedia.com
Consumers using ThedaCare health system facilities can rest easy through 2016 about whether their Network Health Plan coverage is still accepted.
The two companies announced Friday that they have agreed to maintain their partnership to avoid any disruption of services for customers through the end of the year.
ThedaCare had previously announced plans to drop Network Health coverage effective July 31 because of a disagreement over how much the insurer was reimbursing ThedaCare for services.
The situation left hundreds of consumers in the Shawano area uncertain how they would pay for services at ThedaCare facilities if Network Health Plan coverage was no longer accepted. The Menasha-based insurer covers an estimated 3,700 people in Shawano County, most of them senior citizens.
Four months ago, ThedaCare opened its new ThedaCare Medical Center-Shawano and closed the former Shawano Medical Center hospital.
ThedaCare, based in Appleton, announced in mid-December it was ending its five-year-old relationship with Network Health.
In a prepared joint statement released Friday, the two companies said they would extend their partnership through Dec. 31 without any change in terms or any effect on customer costs.
ThedaCare President Dean Gruner said the deal gives patients “peace of mind that nothing changes for them in 2016.”
“I am delighted that our patients in our 14-county service area will continue to see the doctors they know and trust, and get the same high-quality care they have been for years,” Gruner said.
In the same statement, Network Health President Sheila Jenkins extended a word of thanks to customers who were affected by the situation.
“Our customers and partners have been overwhelmingly supportive and patient during this negotiation,” Jenkins said. “As a locally owned and community-minded company, our focus continues to be on being more than a typical health plan, providing superior service to our members and partners.”
The statement gave no indication what will happen to the ThedaCare-Network Health association after 2016.