Memorial Hermann Health System and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas Announce Contract Agreement

New Contract keeps System's Hospitals and physicians in-network for over 1 million Houston area Blue Cross Members

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Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX)

Jun 28, 2013, 07:20 ET

HOUSTON, June 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) and Memorial Hermann Health System announced today they have reached a multi-year agreement. The new agreement, effective immediately, will provide more than 1 million Houston area Blue Cross members with access to in-network health services at Memorial Herman hospitals and facilities throughout the Greater Houston region.

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"I am pleased that we have reached an agreement with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas," said Dan Wolterman, President and CEO of Memorial Hermann. "We have tremendous respect for each other and look forward to continuing our long-term, positive working relationship. Memorial Hermann and its affiliated physicians are thrilled that we will have the opportunity to continue to serve the Blue Cross and Blue Shield patients with high quality, clinically-integrated and safe care throughout our system."

Bert Marshall, president, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, shared Wolterman's sentiments regarding the agreement.

"We are pleased to have reached an agreement with Memorial Hermann that allows us to meet our employers' and members' expectations that we protect the relationships they have with their health care providers while managing medical expenses," said Marshall. "As a customer-owned company, we best serve our members when we offer access to high quality health care providers that keep health care costs affordable for our members. Our new agreement demonstrates that Blue Cross and Memorial Hermann are committed to working together to improve the long-term affordability of high-quality health care services."

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) – the only statewide, customer-owned health insurer in Texas – is the largest provider of health benefits in the state, working with nearly 80,000 physicians and 500 hospitals to serve 4.8 million members in all 254 counties. It has also been ranked "Highest Member Satisfaction among Commercial Health Plans in Texas" for three years in a row by J.D. Power and Associates. BCBSTX is a Division of Health Care Service Corporation (which operates Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in Texas, Illinois, Oklahoma and New Mexico), the country's largest customer-owned health insurer and fourth largest health insurer overall. Health Care Service Corporation is a Mutual Legal Reserve Company and an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

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About Memorial Hermann

An integrated health system, Memorial Hermann is known for world-class clinical expertise, patient-centered care, leading edge technology, and innovation. The system, with its exceptional medical staff and more than 20,000 employees, serves to advance health in Southeast Texas and the Greater Houston community. Memorial Hermann's 12 hospitals include three hospitals in the Texas Medical Center, including the Texas Trauma Institute – a level I trauma center which houses the Life Flight® air ambulance – a hospital for children and a rehabilitation hospital, eight suburban hospitals, and a second rehabilitation hospital in Katy. The system also operates three Heart & Vascular Institutes, the Mischer Neuroscience Institute, two Ironman Sports Medicine Institute locations, cancer centers, imaging and surgery centers, sports medicine and rehabilitation centers, outpatient laboratories, a chemical dependency treatment center, a home health agency, a retirement community and a nursing home. As an Accountable Care Organization, the system also offers employers health solutions and health benefit plans through its wholly owned Memorial Hermann Health Solutions, Inc., and Memorial Hermann Insurance Company.

SOURCE Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX)