There is a big change in health care for some people in Rochester and other parts of upstate New York who use urgent care.
As of New Year’s Day, WellNow Urgent Care, which has a number of facilities throughout the region, no longer accepts insurance from Excellus BlueCross BlueShield.
That’s according to the insurance company, which put out a statement on Monday outlining various options for urgent care for Excellus members who don’t want to pay out-of-network fees.
Excellus said that it has a list of several urgent care locations in Monroe, Ontario, Livingston, Seneca and Wayne counties on its website.
Excellus said that some of its customers also have options for telehealth visits. The health insurer also noted that even though its members may pay more for out-of-network care, many of them have benefits that could cover some of the costs, depending on their health plan.
This situation cropped up in recent weeks as WellNow said it was considering stopping accepting Excellus Insurance if the company didn’t agree to boost the rates that it pays to that urgent care provider.
WellNow said that Excellus has cut the rates it pays to WellNow, and said that has made it difficult for WellNow to properly staff and supply its urgent care centers.
Excellus earlier had called WellNow’s demands “unreasonable and counterproductive to its mission of keeping health care coverage affordable.“
