CBS6 is digging deeper into the agreement reached between Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield and WellNow Urgent Care. Starting Friday, WellNow will accept Excellus insurance in-network for the first time in 11 months. It comes after contract negotiations stalled last year over reimbursement rates.
The locations west of Albany are those that WellNow’s chief medical officer says saw the biggest dropoff in patients once WellNow stopped accepting Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield. He says at some sites, 15 or 20 people left per day, looking for an urgent care that would accept their insurance in-network. He says he’s excited to offer care to these people once again, especially this time of year.
“We’re excited that it happened in November because the winter. I always say you name the respiratory illness, we know it happens in the winter. so yes, we have made sure we’ve kept staff. Even with volumes dropping down, we’ve ensured that we’ve maintained good staffing levels. Our medical staff is ready,” said Dr. Biernbaum…