SD6 inks deal with NVH, extension with KRMC

The School District 6 board earlier this month penned a new health insurance agreement with North Valley Hospital and extended an agreement with Kalispell Healthcare for another 270 days while the two entities try to hammer out a deal.

The school board has been negotiating with the hospitals for the past year. North Valley negotiations have gone well, Kalispell Regional Medical Center not as much.

The district is completely self-insured and pays about $2.5 million a year for health insurance for its employees. In the North Valley deal, the district will pay the hospital a discounted rate of 82 percent of NVH’s normal bill charges. In the event NVH’s charges rise greater than 4 percent in the next year, the school’s exposure will remain at 4 percent.

The contract also calls for the hospital to negotiate a with the district for bundled services and a population health management plan. Claims where charges exceed $10,000 would be paid according to the plan, but would be reviewed to ensure charge accuracy.

The charges are also based on a set of standards outlined by the American Medical Association and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The deal is retroactive to July 1.

The board remains unhappy with the way negotiations are going with KRMC.

“I’m still unhappy that they’re overcharging,” said board member Larry Wilson about the district’s current deal with KRMC.

District Clerk Dustin Zuffelato referred to the KRH’s nondisclosure policy as “smoke and mirrors.”

“They don’t want to give up control,” he said.