Hunt Regional, Humana split shocks retired teachers

Sep. 25--At the Greenville Retired Teachers Association meeting last Thursday, many members expressed concerns over a letter they'd received recently from Hunt Regional Medical Center, explaining that all agreements between the hospital and Humana would be canceled, effective Jan. 1, 2020.

"TRS (Teacher Retirement System of Texas) insurance is through Humana, so a lot of retired teachers won't be able go to the local hospital," Jan Rosenbalm said at the meeting when she brought up the topic of the letter. "I received this letter yesterday, and it was a shock."

According to the letter, signed by Hunt Regional CEO Richard Carter, hospital administration decided to cancel all agreements with the insurance company because "Humana's business practices include more frequent refusals to approve necessary services for patients, more frequent refusals to pay and delays in payment for services provided."

The letter went on to state that numerous communications took place between Hunt Regional and Humana over the last two years "with the goal of salvaging the relationship," but that Humana refused to change its business practices, so the decision was eventually made to cancel all agreements between the hospital and the insurance company.

Due to the cancellation, those covered by Humana medical insurance products -- which include, but aren't limited to, Health Value Management ChoiceCare Network, TRS Humana and Humana Medicare Advantage plans -- Hunt Regional will become an out-of-network facility as of Jan. 1.

Despite Hunt Regional's reasons for the severing of its ties with Humana, many of the 80 to 100 retired teachers in Greenville rely on Humana for their healthcare coverage, and are now working hurriedly to plan for future hospital visits.

"For those people with ongoing health issues, it's hard to change providers," a Greenville resident who wished to remain unidentified in this story told the Herald-Banner. "Medicare is kind of a mine field, so it kind of gives you the feeling of being abandoned."

"We've spoken with Humana, and they've told us we can go to Rockwall or Sulphur Springs. Those seem like our options, so far," the individual added.

Back in 2017, TRS switched from using Aetna for Medicare coverage to Humana. Later that same year, a federal court denied a merger between Aetna and Humana.

According to a spokesperson for Hunt Regional Healthcare, the hospital is still contracted with Aetna, however Aetna is only available to active, non-retired teachers.

Despite the change, the cancellation is not supposed to affect Humana Medicare supplements and drug plans.

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