Health CareTuesday, November 10
Ballad Health says BlueCare members can switch plans and keep their doctors if talks with BlueCross fail
The Daily Johnson City team
If you have BlueCare, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee's TennCare plan, you may have gotten a letter about your doctors. Ballad Health said Monday that negotiations are ongoing and the letters were inaccurate. Ballad says it and its Ballad Health Medical Associates physicians are in-network with the region's other TennCare plans.
Ballad is in-network with two other TennCare plans
| TennCare plan | Ballad Health status |
|---|---|
| BlueCare (BlueCross BlueShield) | In negotiation |
| UnitedHealthcare Community Plan | In-network |
| Wellpoint Tennessee | In-network |
Source: WJHL
If there's no BlueCare agreement by Jan. 1, 2027, customers may switch plans and won't lose their doctor, Ballad said. Anyone eligible for TennCare won't lose TennCare either.
- Talks cover: commercial, exchange, Medicare Advantage and BlueCare
- Questions: call Ballad Health at 833-8-BALLAD (225523)
Jan. 1, 2027Date BlueCare customers may switch plans if there's no deal
Ballad says those customers won't lose access to their provider or physician of choice.
Source: WJHL
Families are worried anyway. WCYB spoke with Audriana Windsor, whose 14-month-old son, Atticus, was born with a congenital heart defect. Her family's letter warned that coverage of Ballad physicians would change beginning Jan. 1, 2027. "All of his specialists are here at home," she said. Ballad has said its notice to negotiate is a normal part of the process and that it expects to remain in-network with BlueCross.
Sources: WJHL, WCYB, Elizabethton Star