Hospital still waiting on Medicare contract

Clark Fork Valley Hospital is still waiting to sign a contract for Medicare services with Humana.

According to Carla Neiman, CFVH Chief Financial Officer, the hospital was informed by Humana on Feb. 7 that they did not yet have approval for a contract from their legal department. Neiman said that Humana did not provide a date when they would have approval.

“It is our expectation that the contract will be effective January 1, 2018,” Neiman said in a statement, referring to the hopes that the contract will be retroactive to the beginning of the year. “We understand how unsettling this situation is for individuals who were sold Humana coverage while there were no participating providers in their local community. We apologize for the ongoing uncertainty, but must reiterate that the ball is in Humana’s court at this point, and they have not provided us with a timely response as expected.”

CFVH has been working with Humana since October of last year, when Blue Cross Blue Shield announced that they would no longer be providing Medicare plans in many rural areas of Montana. The hospital had expected a contract by February 1.

“We will continue to keep the public apprised of the developments related to this issue,” Neiman wrote.