Alaska Island Community Services announced it has become a preferred provider for Premera Blue Cross for medical, dental and behavioral health services.
“It’s new in the community,” explained Carly Allen, chief operating officer for AICS.
After an extensive application process, the transition took effect for AICS’ medical services on Dec. 29, behavioral health on Jan. 6 and its dental services on Jan. 22. Allen explained that getting to this point has been a couple of years in the making.
“It was under review for a very long time,” said Terri Wagner, CHC operations manager for AICS in Wrangell. “It was an intense, six-month process.”
Premera is a nonprofit health insurer based in Washington and licensed with Blue Cross Blue Shield, and is the largest employer-sponsored plan in Alaska. To become part of its provider network, AICS had to show it has the proper licensing, and its doctors and practitioners had to undergo a background check for education, experience, malpractice history and other information to be verified.
What the change will mean for Wrangell is that AICS will be able to accept a Premera plan’s allowed amount as payment in full, and will no longer have to bill patients extra for amounts above the allowed amount. Patients will still be responsible for their co-pays, deductible and any co-insurance.
Ultimately, this will result in reduced out-of-pocket expenses for patients. AICS will also be able to give immediate estimates for services before care is administered, and can check patient eligibility using online tools. This takes some of the guessing out for prospective patients, allowing them to manage their care better.
Having been included in the Premera Blue Cross network, AICS is currently reviewing similar contracting with other insurance providers.
“Once you’ve done it, then moving forward branching out to other insurance companies is easier,” Wagner explained.
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