vs. 
The insurance dispute between the Catholic Health Initiative and Blue Cross Blue Shield is not only personal for Sarah Pope.
“I was diagnosed with hypo-thyroid,” Pope said. “I’m only allowed to go to the hospital four times a year.”
It’s affected her professionally as well. An insurance patient advocate at Children’s Hospital, the mother of one lost her job when the contract between the two hospitals ended.
“We had the Alegent contract and that’s the one that I worked until CHI took over, and they took everything in-house, we we lost our contract with Alegent,” Pope said.
Blue Cross Blue Shield says there is only one reason for this dispute.
“CHI health facilities here in Omaha cost 10-30% more than the other hospitals here in Omaha,” said Andy Williams, marketing coordinator for Blue Cross Blue Shield.
While CHI CEO Cliff Robertson disagrees with “the way that BCBS intends to maintain lower costs, with no concern for quality.”
Williams said BCBS would take CHI back.
“We really do want their facilities and their doctors in our network, but at the right price.”
There’s no denying this dispute has caused an inconvenience around the metro area, but there is some good news. Patients suffering from HIV/AIDs, cancer, or women in their second or third trimester of pregnancy can apply to stay with their same doctors. Both CHI and BCBS agreed to that.
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