Cincinnati Children's, CareSource reach deal one month after termination announcement

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and CareSource Ohio have agreed to a new marketplace insurance contract one month after the two entities announced their partnership would terminate on Aug. 1.

Negotiations were finalized and announced late Friday, just three days before the contract was set to expire.

The expiration would have left Cincinnati Children's without an in-network Ohio marketplace provider as CareSource Ohio was its last-standing marketplace partner. The Ohio marketplace was created by the Affordable Care Act.

Details of the agreement weren't disclosed Friday. The agreement means medical care, often specialized for children, for 1,000 families who use the Ohio marketplace, can continue as an in-network option at the hospital.

“Cincinnati Children’s never stopped working to seek a solution on our patients’ behalf,” Chris Scowden, assistant vice president for contract & payor relations at Cincinnati Children’s, said in a statement. "As a result, these patients will continue to be considered in-network through their Ohio Marketplace insurance for all services provided at the medical center."

The two parties engaged in months of negotiations but late last June, Dayton-based CareSource Ohio announced it was ending the contract. The decision left many families on edge. One parent, Melissa Reinert, said her family would likely have to make a tough decision about whether her 4-year-old son could continue to receive speech therapy.

Steve Ringel, the Ohio market president of CareSource, a Medicaid provider with more than 2 million members across six states, said "thoughtul discussions" over the past few months led to the agreement.

“We are pleased to announce CareSource and Cincinnati Children’s have agreed to a new contract, ensuring CareSource marketplace members will continue to have their care covered at Cincinnati Children’s without interruption,” Ringel said. "...We look forward to continuing to serve the needs of our Marketplace members together.”

CareSource is one of five providers who operate marketplace plans in southwest Ohio. Ambetter by Buckeye Health, Anthem, Medical Mutual of Ohio, and Molina Healthcare are also Ohio marketplace providers but don't have contracts with Cincinnati Children's.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Children's and CareSource agree to new deal