Blue Cross to Assume Part of HealthFirst Business

HMO Blue, a subsidiary of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of South Carolina, is taking over coverage for about 6,300 people insured by HealthFirst beginning January 1, 2000. Benefits and premiums will remain the same until the insurance renewal date for each company covering its employees through group coverage with HealthFirst, said Thomas G. Faulds, president of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Division.

The terms of the arrangement were not disclosed.

Blue Cross will not provide coverage for the 11,000 employees of the Greenville Hospital System, Anderson Area Medical Center and Spartanburg Regional HealthCare System currently covered by HealthFirst. Hospital employees will be covered by their hospital's own health plan beginning January 1, 2000.

Blue Cross and HealthFirst said they worked closely to make sure that businesses and their employees would not face a loss of health insurance or interruption of treatment because of HealthFirst's closure.

"Together, we ensured continuity of care for HealthFirst members by making special arrangements for them to use their primary care providers, and others involved in a current course of treatment," said Ruth Shuck, president and CEO of HealthFirst.

"We will make this transition as smooth as possible for all involved," Faulds said. Blue Cross will consider all qualified employees of HealthFirst for jobs at the insurance company. "Today's labor market is extremely tight and we will look closely at all HealthFirst's experienced employees who could fill some of our existing vacancies," Faulds said.

Many local employers have already begun recruiting and interviewing HealthFirst employees, and some have held job fairs to attract qualified candidates. About 80 employees will be displaced when HealthFirst ceases business operations at the end of the year.

HMO Blue, created in 1994, has over 56,000 members, with 51 hospitals and 86% of the state's physicians participating in the HMO Blue network.

SOURCE Blue Cross and Blue Shield of South Carolina