NEW YORK, Dec. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield and Stellaris Health Network (SHN) hospitals announced today that they have reached an agreement on a provider contract, effective January 1, 2007. Under the agreement, Empire members will continue to have access to Stellaris Health Network hospitals as in-network providers.
"We are pleased to have reached this agreement and we will continue to work closely with SHN to support their ongoing mission to provide important services to our members and to the Westchester community," said Mark Wagar, President, Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield.
"This agreement will provide Empire's members with continued access to Westchester's preeminent network of community hospitals. We look forward to our ongoing relationship with Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield," said Arthur A. Nizza, President and CEO of Stellaris.
No action is required by Empire members to continue services at any Stellaris Hospital Network hospital facility. Empire members who have additional questions should contact their member service representative at the number on their ID card.
Stellaris Health Network is the region's leading healthcare system, dedicated to preserving high quality, community-based care for residents of Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Dutchess, Northern Bronx, and Fairfield Counties. Its affiliated hospitals include Lawrence Hospital Center (Bronxville, NY), Northern Westchester Hospital (Mount Kisco, NY) Phelps Memorial Hospital Center (Sleepy Hollow, NY), and White Plains Hospital Center (White Plains, NY). In addition to the network of hospitals, Stellaris provides ambulance and municipal paramedic services to Westchester County, NY through Westchester Emergency Medical Services. With over half a billion dollars in combined revenue and 1,100 in-patient beds, Stellaris Hospitals account for over a third of the acute care bed capacity in Westchester County. Based in Armonk, NY, Stellaris is one of the largest area employers, with approximately 5,000 employees and over 2,100 voluntary physicians on staff. The Stellaris Hospitals provide multidisciplinary acute care services as well as a range of community based services such as hospice, home health, behavioral health and physical rehabilitation.
Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, the largest health insurer in New York State based on PPO and HMO membership, is a subsidiary of WellPoint, Inc. WellPoint's mission is to improve the lives of the people it serves and the health of its communities. WellPoint, Inc. is the largest health benefits company in terms of commercial membership in the United States. Through its nationwide networks, the company delivers a number of leading health benefit solutions through a broad portfolio of integrated health care plans and related services, along with a wide range of specialty products such as life and disability insurance benefits, pharmacy benefit management, dental, vision, behavioral health benefit services, as well as long term care insurance and flexible spending accounts. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, WellPoint is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and serves its members as the Blue Cross licensee for California; the Blue Cross and Blue Shield licensee for Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri (excluding 30 counties in the Kansas City area), Nevada, New Hampshire, New York (as Blue Cross Blue Shield in 10 New York City metropolitan and surrounding counties and as Blue Cross or Blue Cross Blue Shield in selected upstate counties only), Ohio, Virginia (excluding the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.), Wisconsin; and through UniCare. Additional information about WellPoint is available at http://www.wellpoint.com/.
