JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — With just over two hours left before the deadline Monday night, Florida Blue and Baptist Health reached a deal in their contract negotiations, according to Darnell Smith, Florida Blue's market president for the North Florida region.
For months, thousands of people with Florida Blue health insurance waited to see if Baptist Health would become out-of-network for them. Angela Mann spent her Monday on the phone with representatives from each organization.
First Coast News interviewed Mann while her three-year-old daughter, Clara Monsalve, painted a small pumpkin for Halloween. By the time the interview was finished, Monsalve was covered in paint.
“You’ve got a lot of black paint on you, my friend,” Mann told her daughter. “And on your jammies. It’s on your nose too.”
Lately, Mann has been dealing with more than one type of mess.
“I received a call today saying that we would need to pay close to $11,000 out of pocket,” she said.
Monsalve was scheduled for surgery Wednesday to get her tonsils and adenoids taken out to help with sleep apnea.
“It’s impacting her development,” said Mann. “She’s a totally different kid after she takes a nap.”
But after the call Mann got about the out-of-pocket cost, she had to explain to her daughter the surgery they’d been preparing for might not happen.
“It’s been hard enough,” Mann said. “I mean, my daughter is very young. She’s only three and so the idea of having to go through surgery at this age was already really scary as a parent.”
Mann and Monsalve are two out of thousands who’ve been waiting for months to see if Florida Blue and Baptist Health reach a contract agreement, not knowing whether their healthcare provider would become out of network.
Earlier in the day while First Coast News was still with Mann, she got a call from Florida Blue. She said they told her Monsalve’s surgery would be covered under their “continuity of care.”
“I am really grateful to just have the surgery scheduled,” Mann said.
She said the experience has made her lose trust in her insurer.
“It’s scary when this is your healthcare coverage, this is your only option, yet all of the providers that you see and work with could be lost at any point in time, essentially,” Mann said.
Although Mann now wants more clarity on the cost of the surgery, she can focus on the most important thing: Her little person covered in paint.