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.
For updates about this subject and more, subscribe to this blog or follow us on Twitter!
Tags: Brown & Toland, B&T, UCSF, Hill Physicians, HMO, PPO, IPA, Insurance, San Francisco
October 21, 2009 at 12:32 am |
Can’t One Medical physicians belong to more than one IPA? ie. both B&T and Hills Physicians? I suspect there are significant costs associated with joining a specific IPA. Is that the barrier to your group belonging to two IPAs?
October 27, 2009 at 4:54 am |
Thanks for asking Kathleen! We’re definitely looking into joining both Hill Physicians and Brown & Toland. Stay tuned for updates.
November 18, 2009 at 11:58 pm |
Just wanted to let you know that you ARE already losing patients because of this…my husband just switched to a Hills Physicians doc for no other reason than he needs uninterrupted, easy access to UCSF specialists through our HMO…we’ve had serious problems in the past with an HMO denying access to the desired specialists if you don’t follow their “in versus out of network” rules to a tee. Seems like if you all are going to add Hills Physicians medical group the moment is passing, since UCSF has urged all their patients to do it by Jan 2010 (even if you guys or B&T think it’s not a big deal or a rush…). Anyway we like you guys which is why I’m sending this!
November 30, 2009 at 11:34 pm |
Thanks Sarah. We totally understand, and we’re pursuing a solution very aggressively. Rest assured, One Medical Group members will continue to be able to see UCSF docs in January 2010 and beyond.
November 25, 2009 at 6:53 am |
I do wish you could work this out and join Hill. While I have been pleased with One Medical, I know the #1 medical center in Northern California is UCSF. Anything else is second rate. I pay too much for my insurance (which does have an agreement with UCSF) to have B&T’s failed power play deny me access to the best.
November 30, 2009 at 11:29 pm |
Thanks Joe! Fear not. We’ll have an announcement before the end of the year.