Blue Cross Contract With Hospital Expires

A contract between St. John’s Hospital & Health Center in Santa Monica and Blue Cross expired late Friday, which could make visits to that hospital more expensive for as many as 33,000 patients covered by the insurer. St. John’s officials, who could not be reached for comment Friday, said earlier in the week they would not continue to accept Blue Cross because it had failed to adequately reimburse the hospital for patient care. A spokesman for Blue Cross, Michael Chee, said there were no discussions scheduled between the hospital and the insurer, a division of Thousand Oaks-based WellPoint Health Networks. Blue Cross patients may still go to St. John’s for care, but could be required to pay extra, depending on their coverage. A contract between Blue Cross and the Catholic Healthcare West chain is scheduled to expire Aug. 15.