A dispute between Oxford Health plans and Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in Queens over a contract has landed in the pages of The New York Times. The health plan has told its members it will no longer pay for medical care at the facility, which is located in a low-income neighborhood. Disputes like this between health plans and hospitals are "by no means uncommon," the Times notes. You'll have to work your way into the story a bit before you find out what the shouting is really about: Oxford is pushing an anesthesia group in nearby Flushing to lower its rates by applying pressure on the hospital. The case is clearly a potential problem for Oxford's parent company UnitedHealth Group at a time it is already under a very big microscope.
- see this article from The New York Times