One Medical Group

As you may have heard, Brown & Toland (B&T) will be altering its longstanding HMO relationship with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) at the end of 2009.   If you have HMO insurance (or plan on signing up for an HMO in 2010), then you will likely be impacted by this change.  Specifically, if you want easily-obtained referrals to specialists at UCSF, you will likely need to change your Primary Care Provider (PCP) from a physician in the B&T network to one in the Hill Physicians network.

At One Medical Group, we are well aware of this situation and we’re sorry about the inconvenience it may cause our HMO members.  Negotiations between B&T and UCSF appear to be ongoing, but once the dust has settled we’ll send you our official recommendations to help you adjust.  In the meantime, we want you to know the following key points:

• We’re working to make sure that you can continue to see UCSF specialists while also maintaining your relationship with your One Medical Group PCP.
• If you don’t have a preference for HMO versus PPO coverage, signing up for a PPO will be the easiest way for you to see physicians at both One Medical Group and UCSF.
• If you prefer to stay with an HMO, you will still be able to see One Medical Group and UCSF MDs, though it’ll be easier if you join the Hill Physicians IPA.
• There’s no hurry to make the switch from Brown and Toland IPA to Hill Physicians IPA.  You can do it anytime, even after January 1st, 2010.

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