10/25/2025
To all of my facebook friends and loyal patients,
It has been some time since I have made any posts since announcing joining Privia Health Group of Ohio. As with most changes, this has been difficult and I still believe it was the best option I had to maintain a private independent practice. Privia is a collaborative of independent physicians that allows better negotiation pressures both for reimbursement from insurance and also with purchasing and outside services. As most of you probably know, insurance premiums keep going up. Inflation is a real problem, yet Medicare reimbursement has gone down 7 years in a row.
I believe my independence from a hospital or equity firm gives my patients the ability to receive referrals for the best testing and treatment available. I hope to always be able to afford to have a person answer phones and have availability to see people in the office in a timely fashion.
It was NEVER my intention of leaving SummaCare insurance. The process of leaving Summa’s New Health Collaborative started with several months of notice prior to becoming final in the beginning of July, allowing plenty of time for SummaCare to reach agreement prior to the change. There has also been plenty of time since then to find agreement prior to the open enrollment period for my Medicare patients that begins in November.
I have been able to remain with most of the insurance plans that I was on prior to this transition. I maintain my privileges with both Cleveland Clinic Akron General and Summa Health System. I also work with Aultman hospital and University Hospital systems. The sticking point remains SummaCare insurance. PriviaHealth has been trying to join SummaCare and I continue to hope this can happen sooner rather than later. I have also tried to help and intervene, and every time it seems close, it hasn’t happened. I have been a continuous provider for SummaCare since its inception, even when Akron General and Cleveland Clinic owned my practice. It is unfortunate their leadership appears to be punishing me and trying to deter the handful of independent physicians from leaving Summa’s New Health Collaborative. I suspect Summa’s sale to HatCo, a for profit equity company, may have also added additional pressures to not get this done.
For now, I am seeing my Summa patients like cash pay patients, at a discounted rate. Many have “out of network” options allowing them to continue to be seen. Now as employer provided insurance renewal season begins, and open enrollment for individuals for next year is starting, I hope most of my patients will have alternative insurance choices that will allow patients to stay with my practice for next year and continue to stay with their other providers and hospitals while this problem is resolved.
It is my pleasure to be a part of this community and an honor to provide service for the patients that choose to come to this practice. I hope to be able to continue for many more years.
