Mississippi governor halts his order in Blues, HMA conflict

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant dropped an attempt to force the state's Blues plan to include Health Management Associates' hospitals in its network while the two parties resolve a contract dispute.

But Bryant still plans to pursue an investigation into whether Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Mississippi broke any laws when it dropped 10 HMA hospitals last July, just weeks after HMA sued the insurer alleging that it had been paid below contracted rates for two years.

The governor last month issued an executive order to compel the company to reinstate the hospitals, saying he had the authority to do so under a state law that requires insurers to provide beneficiaries with “reasonable access to care with minimum inconvenience.”

A federal judge, though, granted the Mississippi Blues a temporary restraining order blocking the governor's action, and Bryant said he would modify the order to avoid “protracted litigation.”

The insurer welcomed the development, saying in a statement that the dispute “was a business matter between two private companies.”

BCBS has already reinstated four HMA hospitals into its network: Northwest Regional Medical Center in Clarksdale, Tri-Lakes Medical Center in Batesville, Gilmore Regional Medical Center in Amory and Woman's Hospital in Flowood. HMA had originally rejected BCBS' offer to reinstate the hospitals, saying that the proposal came with a number of new and unreasonable terms and conditions. However, an HMA spokeswoman said BCBS did reinstate the hospitals without the additional restrictions, and they are now in network.

Bryant, though, said he expects the Department of Insurance to continue its investigation of the matter. And, he added, “If there is no private or administrative solution to this matter, I expect legislative action during the 2014 session.”

Follow Beth Kutscher on Twitter: @MHbkutscher