Johnson City, Tenn. (WCYB) - Ballad Health made a significant announcement on Thursday. It has reached an agreement with Cigna Healthcare, ensuring in-network access for consumers covered by Cigna at all Ballad facilities. This is a crucial development that impacts the healthcare landscape in the region.

Full News Release from Ballad

Ballad Health today announced the reaching of agreements with Cigna Healthcare. These new agreements guarantee in-network access for Cigna-covered consumers to all Ballad Health hospitals, facilities, and physicians. The agreements apply to various Cigna plans such as Commercial (employer and individual coverage), Cigna Connect (Marketplace Exchange), and Evernorth (behavioral health). Additionally, the Cigna Medicare Advantage product has been extended, providing access for seniors who have chosen Cigna products.Any ongoing or newly scheduled care will be provided as "in-network" without any disruptions. As an outcome of the current negotiation, all hospitals previously associated with Wellmont will now be considered "in-network" for the Cigna Connect (Marketplace Exchange) product starting from March 1, 2025. These hospitals include Holston Valley Medical Center, Bristol Regional Medical Center, Hawkins County Community Hospital, Hancock County Hospital, Lonesome Pine Hospital, and Lee County Community Hospital.With this negotiation concluded, Ballad Health has executed agreements with all major insurers, including Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Tennessee, Anthem/Elevance, United Healthcare, Humana, and now Cigna. These agreements cover different plans such as Medicare Advantage, Commercial, and marketplace exchange coverage.As a not-for-profit health system, Ballad Health invests its earnings back into the communities it serves. Since the 2020 pandemic, national healthcare manpower labor shortages have affected access to care nationwide, and these shortages have been felt locally through longer wait times and service issues. Ballad Health has taken steps to invest heavily in the clinical workforce to ease the strain. These investments exceed $200 million annually. The result is that Ballad Health currently has a nursing turnover rate materially below the national average, which is an important step towards recovering the workforce. In the first quarter of the current fiscal year, despite an increase in patient volume, Ballad Health posted an operating loss $17 million greater than the previous year. The net increase in salary, wage, and benefit costs for the quarter due to the investment in nurses and clinical staff amounts to more than $28 million alone, which easily consumes Ballad Health's operating margin. Hire-in wages for nurses have doubled since 2022, and all care nurses have received material wage adjustments to reflect the increase in new hire wages.In its negotiations with insurers, Ballad Health has requested that each insurer contribute to the cost of sustaining nursing and clinical staff. It has provided detailed evidence of the investment in nursing and clinical wages and benefits to each insurer during negotiations, and the insurers have used this information to inform their negotiations. Ballad Health is grateful that each insurer has agreed to invest in its clinical staff. It was the right decision and a good investment for the region.With these negotiations complete, Ballad Health looks forward to working with each insurer to ensure patients receive the care their physicians determine necessary and to continue to improve high-value care throughout the region.