Johns Hopkins Medicine reaches agreement with CareFirst

Johns Hopkins Medicine announced today that it has reached an agreement with CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield and that its caregivers and ambulatory surgery centers will remain in CareFirst's network.

An email addressing the conclusion of the negotiations was sent jointly to the JHM community by Theodore DeWeese, interim dean of the Johns Hopkins University medical faculty and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine, and Kevin W. Sowers, president of the Johns Hopkins Health System and executive vice president of Johns Hopkins Medicine.

The text of the message is as follows:

Dear Colleagues,

Many of you are aware of our recent negotiations with CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. We are pleased to tell you that we have reached an agreement with CareFirst, and Johns Hopkins doctors, nurses, and other caregivers, as well as our ambulatory surgery centers, will remain in CareFirst's network.

Over the next few days, we will follow up with patients who have CareFirst health insurance, and we will adjust the messaging on our website, at our call center, and across social media to reflect this resolution. We intend to keep the designated call center open for a couple of days, as we anticipate patient questions will continue to come in.

These negotiations are never pleasant, but it was necessary for us to make sure that we were getting paid at a fair and sustainable rate by CareFirst—a rate that is closer to what others in the market pay us.

We appreciate your understanding and support as we negotiated with CareFirst. We look forward to continuing to work with you to care for our patients and to serve our communities.

JHU's Annual Enrollment period ends this Friday, Oct. 28. In an email sent to employees on Wednesday, the Office of Benefits & Worklife said that anyone who would like to adjust their plan elections for the next calendar year should click on myChoices Annual Enrollment from the Benefits & Worklife homepage. Those needing assistance should contact the Benefits Service Center by email at benefits@jhu.edu or by phone 410-516-2000.