A webinar detailing OU Health Physicians’ “ongoing” negotiations with Blue Cross Blue Shield has been rescheduled for noon Feb. 19 due to extreme winter weather.
According to an OU Health Physicians flyer, Senior Vice President and Provost of OU’s Health and Sciences Center Dr. Jason R. Sanders and Executive Dean of the OU College of Medicine and President of OU Physicians Dr. John Zubialde will be at the webinar to discuss the negotiations with BCBS.
In an interview with The Daily, political science professor and president of OU’s American Association of University Professors chapter Michael Givel said OU “ordinarily” does negotiation in “semi-secret” with “very few people on campus” knowing the details until they’re announced later.
“All of a sudden, a few weeks ago, we’re being told that the negotiations aren’t going so well,” Givel said. “By implication and telling everybody about this, (OU’s) trying to put pressure on the negotiations (with) Blue Cross Blue Shield.”
If an agreement isn’t reached by Feb 28., OU employees and their family’s in-network access to care from their OU Physicians provider could potentially be affected upon the expiration of a 120-day transition period, according to a press release from the OU Physicians Executive Office.
If both parties fail to negotiate, employees would be able to complete care with their OU Physicians providers while still receiving in-network benefits during the 120-day transition period beginning March 1 and ending Jun. 28, according to the press release.
Givel said if a negotiation isn’t reached, it will be a “significant problem” in terms of OU employees’ finances, citing the fact premiums have been “rising drastically.”
According to a survey by Kaiser Family Foundation, family premiums on all employer-sponsored plans rose 55 percent from 2010 to an average of $21,342 in 2020.
“This will be a significant cut, both in benefits and in wages for everybody on campus,” Givel said. “What’s OU going to do about that? That hasn't been answered.”
