Dr. John Radford, of East Aurora, New York, is founder of WellNow Urgent Care.
As we begin the new year, and concerns about the status of our relationship with Excellus BlueCross BlueShield grow, I want to share with you WellNow Urgent Care’s perspective. First, we are grateful for the opportunity to serve nearly 300,000 visits by Excellus subscribers each year. Excellus subscribers remain welcome at all our centers and our staff will file any out-of-network benefits claims on your behalf. In short, we are still here to serve our communities.
Upstate New York isn’t just where I am from, it’s a large part of who I am. I graduated from high school here. After college and medical school, I earned my board certification in New York and began my medical career in Emergency Medicine here. In my Emergency Medicine practice, I saw a gap between primary care practices and hospital emergency departments. I conceived what is now WellNow Urgent Care to help fill that gap. WellNow stepped in to provide X-rays, place stitches and deliver other urgent services during off hours, weekends and holidays. Our expansion across New York state has improved access to care, shortened drive times and reduced strain on hospital ERs. Someone may see us for a sinus infection one weekend and two years later return for a sprained wrist. Patients see us without an appointment, seven days a week and on all holidays. This is why we’re called WellNow Urgent Care, not WellNow Primary Care.
Our business model is saying “yes” to people who need help when they need it. We have also made significant long-term investments in underserved communities by hiring locally, training and qualifying our frontline staff, and building the centers across the state. It’s a big bet on the communities we serve.
The truth is that Excellus BlueCross BlueShield has significantly reduced what it pays us for staffing, procedures and supplies while raising the prices they charge subscribers by 45%. Excellus pays…
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