Midlands hospital reaches deal to stay in-network with major insurer. Here’s what we know
After a dispute that threatened to drop coverage of doctor and hospital visits for an untold number of patients across the Midlands as soon as Saturday, a major insurer and a local health network have reached a deal to extend their partnership for years to come.
Aetna and Lexington Medical Center announced Tuesday that the Lexington Medical health care system has reached an agreement with Aetna to continue to operate in-network for Aetna’s customers. A previous standoff between the two had led the West Columbia-based hospital and its affiliated practices to announce it expected to be out of network for Aetna customers when its current deal expired Feb. 1, which would have forced patients to pay more out of pocket, find other doctors or switch their insurance coverage.
Now the worst-case scenario has been avoided.
“Lexington Medical Center and Aetna, a CVS Health business, are pleased to announce that we have reached a multi-year agreement that keeps Lexington Medical Center hospitals and providers in network for Aetna Commercial and Medicare health plans without interruption,” the two said in separate but identical media statements Tuesday morning. “We are pleased to have reached an agreement that puts our patients and members first and look forward to continuing to collaborate to support their care.”
Besides its hospital near Interstate 26, Lexington Medical Center operates 44 separate practices and specialists throughout the Midlands, from oncologists to podiatrists to urgent cares — all of which would not longer have been covered by Aetna if a deal hadn’t been reached.
The details of the new agreement were not immediately available. Aetna had blamed the impasse on Lexington Medical’s “demand for unreasonable price increases” in a new deal that the health insurer said would increase costs.
This story was originally published January 28, 2025 at 9:33 AM.
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