Partners and Tufts Reach 3-Year Agreement- BWH Bulletin - For and about the People of Brigham and Women's Hospital
Partners and Tufts Reach 3-Year Agreement- BWH Bulletin - For and about the People of Brigham and Women's Hospital
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November 3, 2000
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In This Issue:
Partners and Tufts Reach 3-Year Agreement
AMMP Awards 2000 Scholarship Recipients
November Calendar
Obituary: Karen Kaufman Becker
Dynamic Duo: A progress report 1998-2000
Time Line
Inpatient Internists
“Two hospitals working as one”
Are you ready for JCAHO?
Good News for Tufts Health Plan Members Partners HealthCare and Tufts Health Plan announced this week that they have reached agreement on a new, three year contract which will allow Tufts Health Plan members to continue to receive care from BWH, MGH, and the other Partners hospitals and physicians. The agreement will preserve quality care at fair reimbursement levels and will allow BWH to continue to offer Tufts coverage to its employees. “This is great news for our patients,” says Dr. Thomas Lee, medical director of Partners Community HealthCare. “This is a fair agreement that will allow us to maintain our high standards of care, as well as cover the reasonable costs of patient care. We thank all our Tufts Health Plan patients for their patience during this difficult and trying time. We look forward to continuing to provide them with the excellent care they deserve and expect.” “We thank our members for their understanding and Partners for their flexibility in reaching this agreement,” says Dr. Harris Berman, chief executive of Tufts Health Plan. “Our mutual commitment to our members and patients means that they have the continued certainty of being able to see Partners hospitals and physicians through Tufts Health Plan.” The new agreement covers the following Partners physicians and hospitals: BWH, MGH, The North Shore Medical Center, Newton-Wellesley, Faulkner, Spaulding Rehabilitation and the community-based doctors and hospitals of Partners Community HealthCare, including Emerson, Beverly, and Addison Gilbert hospitals. The new contract covers all Tufts Health Plan commercial health care coverage options. These negotiations did not involve Secure Horizons, the existing contract which remains in effect. Both organizations said that these difficult negotiations were a symptom of a very turbulent time in health care both locally and nationally. For the public, it is important that all parties work together to balance affordability with access to a broad choice of providers. For physicians and hospitals, resources must be available to maintain the highest standards of patient care, especially at a time of huge cutbacks in federal Medicare funding and state Medicaid rates that fall far below the reasonable cost of patient care. For health plans, it is imperative that at a time of rising health care costs, medical resources are used in a way that provides our members with comprehensive benefits and affordable access to high quality health care. Both sides said that the agreement announced today reflects this balanced approach.