Deadlock spurs New Jersey hospital to cancel Horizon contract

Newton (NJ) Memorial Hospital is dropping Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey due to a dispute over reimbursement payments. The 148-bed hospital insists it needs to receive larger reimbursements from Horizon, but New Jersey's oldest and largest health insurer refuses to pay more. Due to the impasse, Newton Memorial is terminating its contract with Horizon on July 22. Unless an agreement is reached before then, Newton Memorial will be "out-of-network" on Nov. 23 for about 900 Horizon subscribers. Although contract termination between hospitals and insurers are not uncommon, Newton Memorial president and CEO Tom Senker said the negotiations breakdown with Horizon is "a major dispute."