Is Sarah Bush Lincoln Hopsital Taking Health Alliance Again
MATTOON — Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center is again accepting insurance from the Health Alliance Medical Plan after a nearly two-year break in the coverage.
Announcements from SBLHC and the Carle Foundation Hospital-owned insurance plan on Tuesday said a five-year agreement went into place at the first of the year.
SBLHC stopped accepting Health Alliance in June 2018, based on what a hospital official said was a result of more patients leaving the immediate area for medical services.
In the announcement, Dennis Pluard, the hospital's chief financial officer, said SBLHC's recent growth and assurances from Health Alliance that services will be provided locally helped lead to the agreement.
"We need to be active in this health plan to better serve the community," Pluard said.
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He noted SBLHC's acquisition of Fayette County Hospital in Vandalia and several medical practices in Effingham, locations where Health Alliance has a "considerable share" of the insurance market.
On Tuesday, Pluard said SBLHC did not want to have an agreement with Health Alliance for only the new facilities' locations without including the main hospital.
"We want to do it fully," he said. "We didn't want to fragment it."
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He added that there was "quite a bit of discussion" that led to assurances from Health Alliance that services that can be performed locally will be.
"That was important to us," Pluard said.
Health Alliance Chief Operating Officer Sinead Rice Madigan said the "direct partnership" will allow patients from Coles County and surrounding areas to have full coverage from an established insurance provider.
"That's why we believe a local health plan option will support this excellent health care experience," Madigan said.
The announcement said Health Alliance coverage will be in place for all of Sarah Bush Lincoln's facilities and with all its employed medical staff.
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When SBLHC announced the end of Health Alliance coverage in 2017, Pluard said there had been a marked increase in patients leaving Coles County for medical care in the six years the coverage was in place.
Patients leaving the area for services SBLHC could provide reduced the income the hospital used to cover the expenses of treating uninsured and under-insured patients, Pluard said at the time.
Also at that time, a Health Alliance official noted services Carle provides that SBLHC does not and said their leaving the area wasn't because of insurance coverage.
Recognize these Mattoon-area locations?
Darby Pipe Shop
1984: Larry Kniepkamp weighs custom-blended tobacco for a customer of the Darby Pipe Shop. He custom builds briar pipes for his customers.
Depot
1980: Mattoon railroad depot.
Dodge Grove Cemetery
1987: This city backs its patriotic reputation with plenty of granite and bronze. For its size, 20,000 population, Mattoon has an unusually large number of monuments dedicated to those who died or served in wars. There are about 20 such memorials in or near Mattoon.
Dodge Grove Cemetery mausoleums
1988: the last major repairs on the mausoleum in Dodge Grove Cemetery wre done in 1938. Since then, time and vandals had taken their toll.
Dodge Grove Cemetery tombstone
1973: A small white marker tells all that is known for sure about the occupant of this grave in an isolated corner. This year the small Confederate flag that usually stands next to the American flag was missing. The reason for its disappearance is not known.
Friendship Garden
1987: Do Homann displays one of the garden's fixtures. For 25 years Friendship Garden has been a haven for a variety of birds, trees, flowers and plants. The garden founded by Helen Douglas Hart, takes up a quarter-city-block south of downtown.
General Electric
1984: Tami Shull, as facilitator, keeps the discussion on track in the quality circle at the General Electric Lamp Plant in Mattoon.
General Electric
1987: General Electric's Mattoon Lamp Plant.
Housing Trailers
1945: This is just one of the trailer camps that have been shoe-horned into any sort of vacant space Mattoon can find.
Hulman Warehouse fire
1981: The former Hulman & Co. warehouse near downtown Mattoon was destroyed.
Source: https://jg-tc.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/sarah-bush-lincoln-health-center-health-alliance-reach-new-insurance-agreement/article_fd50d2d8-5728-53ce-9499-731593a6cdb1.html
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