WellStar, Aetna reach agreement

By Craig Schneider

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

WellStar Health System has reached an agreement with Aetna insurance company that extends their contract for three years, officials said.

The new contract, which takes effect Sept. 1, provides Aetna members with the same access to the same medical services, said Barbara Corey, WellStar senior vice president of managed care.

Both parties declined to discuss specifics of the contract, including whether it will result in increased out-of-pocket expenses for people.

About 38,000 metro Atlanta households who carry Aetna insurance have at least one family member who used a WellStar facility or doctor in the past year, according to Aetna officials.

Negotiations chilled between WellStar and Aetna in June. WellStar sent 14,000 letters to patients of health system physicians saying it might terminate its relationship with the giant insurance carrier.

Aetna spokesman Walt Cherniak said at the time that the sticking points in negotiations centered on the rates that the insurance company pays for medical services provided by WellStar. He said WellStar had asked for rate increases that were excessively high, but WellStar officials countered that they were only seeking comparable market rates.

WellStar has five hospitals and several ancillary facilities in Cobb, Cherokee, Douglas, Paulding and Bartow counties.