Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford Completes New Health Plan Agreement with Blue Shield of California

For Release: October 26, 2011

PALO ALTO, Calif. — Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford today announced the successful completion of a new health insurance provider agreement with Blue Shield of California, effective October 20, 2011. Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford is once again an in-network provider for all patients insured by Blue Shield of California.

With the new two-year agreement, the hospital and Blue Shield were able to mutually agree on reimbursement rates and contract language relevant to today’s healthcare environment. "We’re happy to have this new agreement in place," said Gary May, vice president of Payer Relations and Pricing for the hospital. "Both Blue Shield and Packard Children’s have worked diligently on this matter, and everyone is pleased that Blue Shield families will continue to have full access to our world-class care." 

Blue Shield patients who received services at the Hospital in the non-contracted period between August 31 and October 19 were only held responsible by the hospital for what their in-network expenses would have been if the previous contract had been in place. Additionally, both Packard Children’s and Stanford Hospital & Clinics are still in negotiation with Anthem Blue Cross for a new health insurance provider agreement. Both hospitals continue to honor in-network co-insurance rates in this non-contracted interim period for patients insured by Anthem.