Letter: Lacking a new agreement with Cigna, St. Mary's doctor fears impact on patients

Patrick Willis
·2 min read
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As a practicing cardiologist with St. Mary’s Health Care System, I know what it takes to deliver high-quality care to patients. I am proud and honored to have taken on the responsibility of caring for my friends, family, and neighbors.

My colleagues and I have worked for many years to ensure the wellbeing of our community. Now, like many other industries facing inflation and increased demand for top talent, hospitals and health systems across the country are struggling to ensure they can continue serving their community with the same high-quality standard of care patients expect and deserve.

Patrick Willis, MD, medical staff president at St. Mary’s Health Care System
Patrick Willis, MD, medical staff president at St. Mary’s Health Care System

Unfortunately, during this difficult time, Cigna may be making it more challenging for our patients to have in-network access to the critical services that St. Mary’s provides.  For more than 116 years, St. Mary’s has been providing high-quality healthcare services to patients in Athens and northeast Georgia. Sadly, Cigna doesn’t seem to value this community the way we do. Despite charging double-digit premium increases to patients, Cigna is unwilling to pay St. Mary’s and our dedicated team of physicians and nurses fairly for the care we provide patients. Absent a new agreement before Aug. 15, thousands of patients may be left without access to our critical services and left to pay higher out-of-pocket costs.

It truly feels like Cigna is taking advantage of a weary healthcare system and record-breaking inflation. Health systems like St. Mary’s are investing every available resource to make sure we have the staff and necessary supplies to care for the patients who walk through our doors 24/7/ 365. Although we wish for different circumstances, we cannot endure the cost of caring for the community we love deeply without Cigna committing to pay fairly for the care our patients receive.

This request is simple and it’s what all of our families, friends and neighbors across Northeast Georgia deserve: uninterrupted access to physicians and services the community knows and trusts. I am asking Cigna to work with St. Mary’s to secure a contract and show up for them so we can continue to support our patients and provide excellent care.

Patrick Willis, MD

Medical Staff President

St. Mary’s Health Care System

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: St. Mary's cardiologist worries about contract dispute with Cigna