In-Network Agreement Reached with BCBSOK and OU Health Physicians

Oklahoma City, OK -- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma (BCBSOK) and OU Health Physicians (OUHP), are pleased to announce they have agreed to contracts through June 30, 2022, ensuring all OU Health Physicians in the Blue Advantage PPO^SM, BlueChoice PPO^SM, BlueLincs HMO^SM, BluePlan65 Select^SM, BluePreferred PPO^SM and BlueTraditional^SM will remain in-network with no disruption in service. Over the next year, BCBSOK and OU Health will work to define a new, long-term contract that reflects the quality and value of OU Health as a newly integrated clinic and hospital system and its services to BCBSOK members.

After months of negotiation, both parties have worked to prevent a lapse in coverage for BCBSOK members who are OU Health Physicians patients. BCBSOK and OUHP value the long-standing relationship between the two organizations and the role they play in providing healthcare to patients while fulfilling the needs of members.

“We value our long-standing relationship with OU Physicians and are pleased to reach an agreement that is in the best interest for all BCBSOK members, including group, retail and tribal citizens”, said Joseph R. Cunningham, M.D., BCBSOK President. “This agreement aligns with our commitment to provide access to quality, cost-effective health care for all Oklahomans.”

“OU Health Physicians is pleased to have reached a 13-month agreement with BCBSOK,” said John Zubialde, M.D., President of OU Health Physicians and Executive Dean of the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. “Providing access to highly specialized health care services for our BCBSOK-insured patients is a unified goal between our two organizations. Today’s announcement is especially significant for our critically-ill patients who will continue to benefit from access to the state’s largest and most specialized group of physicians.”

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About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma

For more than 80 years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma has been committed to meeting the health care financing needs of Oklahomans. As the state's oldest and largest private health insurer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma provides health care benefit plans for more than 800,000 Oklahomans. For more information, visit bcbsok.com. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma is a Division of Health Care Service Corporation (which operates Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in Texas, Illinois, Oklahoma, Montana and New Mexico), the country’s largest customer-owned health insurer and fourth largest health insurer overall. Health Care Service Corporation is a Mutual Legal Reserve Company and an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

OU HEALTH PHYSICIANS

With nearly one million patient visits per year, OU Health Physicians provides healthcare with a depth and breadth of expertise that is unmatched in the region. Locations range from the Oklahoma Health Center in downtown Oklahoma City to 23 total clinics in the Oklahoma City area, Edmond and Midwest City. In the Tulsa area, 300 physicians and specialists provide clinical care at five OU Health Physicians clinics. Most providers also serve as faculty of the OU College of Medicine at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, training the next generation of physicians. For more information, visit ouhealth.com.