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Marshall Hospital has agreed to continue to see CalFarm Insurance Co. members and cover costs retroactively to July 12, when the small Placerville community hospital inadvertently cut ties to some 2,000 patients covered by the plan.
The agreement includes Marshall, its Primary Care Physicians Clinic and patients covered by the Farm Bureau health program in El Dorado County.
The cut-off was a mistake, said James Whipple, chief financial officer at Marshall. The hospital canceled a contract with Community Care Network, a San Diego company, in July because it wasn't bringing much business to the hospital. The contract included folks with CalFarm Insurance, who discovered the problem when they tried to get care but found their insurance was denied.
Some received care and have been billed at higher, out-of-network rates, while others sought treatment elsewhere.
About 540 people whose policies have come up for renewal since July opted to change insurance, said Sam Cole, vice president of underwriting and sales for CalFarm Insurance. They'll be sent letters inviting them back, he said, and the retroactive nature of the contract means billings will be corrected.
"We're not the biggest health plan in Sacramento, with a couple of thousand lives," Cole said. "But these...