UPDATE: This story has been updated to reflect comment from WMC and Anthem.

Multiple Hudson Valley hospitals could soon leave major health insurance plans. According to the Poughkeepsie Journal, five Hudson Valley hospitals could soon be considered out of network for people on major health insurance plans. The plan that will potentially be affected is the Anthem BlueCross BlueShield under Empire BlueCross BlueShield. It is unclear how many patients are affected.

The Poughkeepsie Journal reports that the Westchester Medical Center (WMC) Health Network has five hospitals that were terminated from the insurance plan on April 1, 2019. The hospitals are Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, MidHudson Regional Hospital in Poughkeepsie, and the three Bon Secours sites, which are Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, Community Hospital in Port Jervis, and St. Anthony's Hospital in Warwick.

Negotiations are ongoing to keep the Westchester Medical Center Health Network on the insurance plans. According to the Poughkeepsie Journal, WMC will be considered in-network through May 31, until an agreement is or is not reached.

We reached out to both Anthem and WMC for comment. Anthem provided the following statement:

“Empire is actively negotiating with Westchester Medical Center Health Network (Westchester) on a new agreement that would protect affordability for our consumers and keep Westchester in our provider network. Our number one priority during these negotiations is to protect consumers’ access to affordable, high-quality healthcare. We believe hospitals and doctors should be compensated fairly, and this is reflected in the terms we offer to providers to participate in our networks. In the event that an agreement is not reached with Westchester by May 31, 2019, Empire will continue to have high-quality healthcare options that are in-network for our consumers.”

*Note: The active negotiation affects Westchester Medical Center, Mid-Hudson Regional Hospital of Westchester and Bon Secours Charity Health System.

WMC did not provide comment but did want us to note that WMCHealth's HealthAlliance hospitals in Kingston and Margaretville are not impacted.

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