CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Cleveland Clinic and CareSource signed a long-term Medicaid contract, after months of negotiations.
The deal will allow those with CareSource Medicaid and MyCare plans to continue to have access to the Clinic. An estimated 61,000 people with CareSource receive primary care through the Clinic.
The news comes one week after open enrollment for Medicaid began. Those on Medicaid have until Nov. 30 to enroll in a plan for 2018.
In a joint statement, the companies said: "We are pleased to announce that Cleveland Clinic and CareSource have signed a long-term contract solidifying that CareSource Medicaid and MyCare members can continue to have their care covered at Cleveland Clinic without any interruption. This comes following months of diligent discussions dedicated to working toward an agreement and upholding our combined commitment to provide Medicaid and MyCare patients with access to the highest level of healthcare. We look forward to continuing to serve the needs of our patients/members together."
In July, the Clinic and CareSource warned their contract together would expire Aug. 31, which would have left thousands of CareSource members without access to the Clinic.
Days before that deadline, the two companies extended their contract through Nov. 30 while they tried to agree on a long-term contract.
Both said they were confident they would come to an agreement by Dec. 1, which would have been one day after open enrollment ended.
CareSource's Medicaid contract with the Clinic initially was going to terminate because the two were unable to agree on a payment structure.
In an August interview, Steve Ringel, president of the Ohio market for CareSource, said the company had since secured with the Clinic a value-based payment system, which it uses with most of the other healthcare providers in the state, but was still ironing out more details with the Clinic.
Those final terms of the deal involved figuring out how to implement the new payment structure and expanding the contract to include new hospitals in the Clinic's system, such as Akron General and Avon Hospital.