Merger will reunite HMO and Condell

Condell Medical Center in Libertyville could rejoin the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois network by year's end, officials confirmed Thursday.

The hospital, which is being acquired by Oak Brook-based Advocate Health Care system, was included in Advocate's renewal Wednesday of its contract with Blue Cross Blue Shield for all its hospitals through 2010.

However, Condell would be rolled into the insurer's provider network only when and if the roughly $180-million Advocate-Condell merger announced last month is approved by federal and state regulatory agencies.

"It's not automatic that they are on the network," said Kelly Jo Golson, Advocate spokeswoman. "The day that we receive final approval for the Condell integration, the new agreement for Blue Cross Blue Shield and Advocate will go into effect at Condell."

It could take another five months for the merger to get approval from the Federal Communications Commission, the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board and the Illinois Finance Authority.

Condell stopped accepting patients insured by Blue Cross Blue Shield, the area's largest commercial insurer, on Nov. 1 negotiations broke down after more than a year. The move affected 11,000 HMO patients and tens of thousands of PPO patients -- roughly 20 percent of Condell's business.

Jodi Levine, Condell Health Network's vice president of business development, said Thursday she is not privy to details of the deal negotiated by Advocate with Blue Cross.

"It has always been Condell's desire to return to the Blue Cross network," she said. "We want to be able to serve all of the residents of Lake County as we always have."

Neither Condell nor Blue Cross would comment Thursday on ongoing legal wrangling between the two over millions of dollars each alleges the other owes.