20-096 St. Vincent Medical Center and St. Vincent Dialysis Center Closure and Contract Termination

Date: 01/23/20

This information applies to Physicians, Participating Physician Groups (PPGs), Hospitals, and Ancillary providers.

For Medi-Cal, this information applies to Kern, Los Angeles, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tulare counties.

Ensure members have continued access to referrals, prescription refills and care transition

St. Vincent Medical Center (SVMC) will be closing on or about February 8, 2020. As a result, upon closure (effective February 8, 2020, at the latest), the contract between Health Net* and SVMC will terminate.

The hospital has already ceased emergency department operations, all elective surgeries and other procedures. The transplant department will close by February 8, 2020, completing the full closure of the hospital. St. Vincent Dialysis Center (SVDC) is scheduled to close on or about January 30, 2020.

Providers should not refer Health Net members to SVMC or SVDC. Participating providers must refer Health Net members to participating Health Net providers for both inpatient and outpatient services.

Health Net offers continuity of care assistance for members with an existing relationship with SVMC and is working with affected provider groups to coordinate the transition of care for members affected by the closures. For information on continuity of care, contact the Provider Services Center as listed in the right-hand column.

Background

SVMC’s parent company, Verity Health Systems (Verity), filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on August 31, 2018, in order to facilitate a court-supervised sale of some or all of its hospitals. On January 6, 2020, Verity filed a motion seeking court authority to proceed with the closure of SVMC and SVDC. The court approved the closure of both on January 9, 2020.

Additional information

If you have questions regarding the information contained in this update, contact the Health Net Provider Services Center by email at provider_services@healthnet.com within 60 days, by telephone or through the Health Net provider website as listed in the        right-hand column.