Rad Partners affiliate Empire State Radiology inks in-network deal with Cigna
Rad Partners affiliate practice Empire State Radiology has inked an in-network deal with health insurer Cigna.
Located in the Long Island community of Rockville Centre, New York, ESR’s new agreement spans multiple years, beginning on Nov. 15. Rad Partners noted that the partnership “strengthens network stability” while enhancing access for patients, hospitals and referrers.
“By leveraging Radiology Partners’ national technology platform and AI-enabled tools, ESR is positioned to meet New York’s evolving imaging needs with both local expertise and the power of national scale,” RP said in an announcement. “This agreement reinforces ESR’s leadership in delivering high-quality, value-driven care and reflects the practice’s continued commitment to being a trusted partner to hospitals, physicians and payers throughout the region.”
Empire State Radiology employs 39 fellowship-trained subspecialists, handling approximately 620,000 cases per year and serving six hospitals in the Catholic Health system, according to its website. This includes 35 on-site physicians and a total of about 210 New York state-licensed rads for teleradiology solutions. Empire State Radiology last year also touted the signing of a new on-site and remote reading services agreement with Mountainside Medical Center in North Jersey.
The move comes as radiology practices fight to stay in-network with health plans amid challenging contract negotiations and ramifications from the No Surprises Act. Rad Partners affiliate Mori, Bean and Brooks Inc. also recently announced the signing of a new contract with Florida Blue, the state’s largest health insurer. Meanwhile, Anthem has unveiled a new policy slated to begin Jan. 1, which would penalize hospitals across 11 states for using radiologists and other physicians who are outside of its networks.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.