By KAREN GARLOCH
The Charlotte Observer

As Novant Health and Aetna health insurance company continue negotiations for a new contract, Aetna announced this week it will extend existing benefits to Novant patients for 30 days.

“I remain hopeful” that a contract will be signed by July 1, when the current contract expires, said Mark Schmidt, Aetna’s chief negotiator in the Carolinas.

But just in case, he said Aetna opted for a 30-day “continuation of services” that will allow Aetna patients with existing coverage to continue getting in-network prices for Novant services through July 31.

Without a contract or an extension, Aetna customers would find themselves out-of-network, and paying more, to use the services of Presbyterian Healthcare in the Charlotte area. Novant, based in Winston-Salem, is the parent company of Presbyterian and operates doctors’ offices and hospitals serving more than 5 million people across the Carolinas and Virginia.

Aetna has about 125,000 members in the Charlotte-area market. They’ll receive notification of the 30-day extension through postcards, Schmidt said. Novant and the N.C. Department of Insurance got word of Aetna’s decision Wednesday morning. The insurance company also notified employers who provide health insurance through Aetna.

Aetna could have extended benefits for 90 days, but Mr. Schmidt said he didn’t want the time frame to be so long that it would interrupt the momentum negotiators have achieved in recent weeks.

“We’ve got their last offer, and we’re getting ready to put one together to go back to them,” Mr. Schmidt said. “The gap continues to narrow. We’re hopeful we can reach agreement … by July 31 if not sooner.”

Negotiations between Aetna and Novant broke down in May when the insurer sent letters to Novant doctors and patients notifying them that the parties would probably not reach agreement before their contract expires.

In May, Aetna officials complained publicly that Novant’s inpatient hospital charges are 18 percent higher than Aetna’s N.C. average and that charges for outpatient services are 28 percent higher. Aetna also said Novant was asking for a 13 percent increase starting in July.

Novant denied those figures and filed a lawsuit, alleging that Aetna made false and misleading statements and distributed confidential financial information in an “attempt to gain leverage” in the contract negotiations. Novant officials said Aetna’s first negotiating position asked for a 5 percent decrease from Novant.

In an interview last week, Novant’s chief negotiator Bob Seehausen said Aetna’s decision to go public about the talks was premature and unusual. He would not say what percentage increase Novant initially requested, but said the hospital system’s latest proposal includes no increase for the Charlotte market in 2010 and only modest increases for other Novant markets.

This story from The Charlotte Observer ^[1] appears with permission on DavidsonNews.net as part of our local news partnership with the Observer.

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