Radiology Partners inks agreement with key payer to restore in-network access
A Radiology Partners-affiliated practice has inked an agreement with one key health insurer to restore beneficiaries’ in-network access to imaging services.
Phoenix-based Sonoran Radiology’s new pact with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arizona dates back to Jan. 1. Rad Partners said the agreement establishes a “renewed partnership” between the two companies, paving a path for “strong collaboration” with one another.
“The need for radiology care has never been more critical with ever-changing patient demographics, the sharp increase of chronic diseases, and the nationwide physician shortage,” Practice President Ronald Newbold, MD, said in a May 3 announcement. “Sonoran Radiology commends the BCBSAZ leadership team for understanding the value of high-quality radiological care and looks forward to a long-standing collaborative relationship that helps us all best serve our patients and communities in the years to come.”
Sonoran Radiology bills itself as Arizona’s “leading” local imaging group, employing nearly 200 board-certified physicians. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arizona, meanwhile, is one of the state’s oldest and most well-established health plans, around since 1939 and today covering more than 1.9 million beneficiaries.
The agreement comes as radiology practices fight to remain in-network with health plans of choice in their service areas. Fellow private equity-backed provider group Envision Healthcare touted a similar agreement with Aetna in April, keeping its 500 radiologists in-network with the health plan.
Since the roll out of the No Surprises Act, commercial insurers have started terminating in-network contracts that involve higher-than-average reimbursement rates, according to S&P Global Ratings. About 5% of Radiology Partners’ business is out-of-network, but there is “some risk that percentage could increase” given such trends, analysts speculated in March.
Rad Partners is the largest radiology practice in the U.S., employing 3,300 physicians, working at 131 centers across 35 states and handling 49 million cases per year.
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.