Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, Texas Children’s Pediatric Associates Reach Agreement to Continue Network Access for BCBSTX Members

Richardson, TX — Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) announced today that the company has reached an agreement with Texas Children’s Pediatric Associates (TCPA) to continue as in-network physicians for BCBSTX’s BlueChoice® PPO and HMO Blue® Texas networks.

Following a series of productive discussions, both parties agreed that it was in the best interest of Texas Children’s Pediatric Associates and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas customers to work through the difficult issues and come to an agreement before the contract expired early next year.

“We are very pleased to have finalized an agreement that maintains our relationship with TCPA,” said Shannon Stansbury, vice president, Network Management, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas. “This agreement allows us to achieve one of our primary goals for our members in Houston — providing access to quality care in a cost effective manner, which means in-network benefits and lower out-of-pocket costs for health care services provided by TCPA physicians."

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas — the only statewide, customer-owned health insurer in Texas — is the largest provider of health benefits in the state, working with nearly 40,000 physicians and 400 hospitals to serve 4 million members in all 254 counties. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas is a division of Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), the country’s largest customer-owned health insurer and fourth largest health insurer overall. HCSC is a Mutual Legal Reserve Company and an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

For More Information Contact:

• News Media Contact: margaret_jarvis@bcbstx.com, (972) 766-7165
• Corporate Headquarters: (972) 766-6900