Blue Cross and Nemours Clinic Part Company

By Roger Weeder First Coast News

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Thousands of families across the First Coast are having to explore their insurance options since Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida and Nemours Children's Clinic have parted company.

The two sides for months have been trying to work out a payment schedule. The separation took effect on January 1st.

Nemours is a pediatric specialty clinic that serves patients from across the southeast. Blue Cross is the largest provider of health insurance in Florida

Alice Montfort is a parent caught in the middle. Her 16 year-old son is recovering from cancer and gets follow up treatment at Nemours.

Montfort says, "You want to do whatever you can for your child, but you know you should not have to worry about your insurance company. You work every day to pay for insurance.

Dr. William Kerr is the Medical Officer for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida. He says both sides are talking.

Kerr says of the stalemate, "Certainly from our perspective the affordability of the coverage is the driving force that we are trying to balance."

Dr. R. Jay Cummings is Vice President of Physician Practices for Nemours Florida. In a prepared statement Cummings pointed out that the fees paid to Nemours by BCBSF have remained unchanged for the past six years.

Cummings went on to say,? We cannot continue to subsidize Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida's profitability."

Blue Cross says depending on the coverage its customers have they can go out of network, but would have to pay more out of pocket.

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