Union nurses protest MAHEC departure from Mission network, hospital staffing

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Nurses with Mission Hospital held a demonstration on Thursday, May 8, calling on the hospital’s parent company to “do better” with staffing and to highlight concerns over MAHEC’s exit from Mission Health Partners.

Hannah Drummond, the chief nurse representative of National Nurses United at Mission Hospital, said nurses who are MAHEC patients received surprise medical bills totaling thousands of dollars.

“When I started digging deeper, we found out that the contracts between the hospital and MAHEC had been terminated, and we have our own special healthcare plan through Aetna, through the hospital,” Drummond said. “So, while MAHEC accepts Aetna, they don’t accept our version which impacts 5,000 employees in the county, not just nurses.”

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Nancy Lindell, a spokesperson for Mission Health, said in a statement Thursday that it was MAHEC that left the Mission Health Partners network.

“The facts are that the leadership team at MAHEC made the decision to leave Mission Health Partners and switch to a different accountable care organization,” Lindell said. “This was not a decision Mission Health made.”

In a statement, MAHEC said it was “unfortunate” that it is no longer in-network for Mission/HCA employees but “would welcome the opportunity to be fully part of their network again.”

“We are committed to creating a healthier community in Western North Carolina and beyond and remain hopeful that continued dialogue will lead to a resolution,” the MAHEC statement said.

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Lindell said that although MAHEC is no longer part of Mission Health Partners, it remains in-network with Aetna, the insurance provider for Mission Health employees.

Drummond said Thursday’s demonstration aimed to draw attention to the union’s ongoing staffing concerns, claiming Mission Hospital is “staffed beautifully” when state entities are surveying.

“We want our patients to have that every day,” Drummond said.

In response to staffing concerns, Lindell said, “Mission Hospital continues to prioritize our recruitment and retention efforts – adding more than 375 team members, attending more than 70 recruitment events since January and reducing RN turnover to 6% below the national average – and is annually among America’s and North Carolina’s Best Hospitals by Healthgrades and Business North Carolina, respectively.”

MISSION HEALTH’S FULL STATEMENTS:

MAHEC insurance: “Once again, the NNU rally is founded on misinformation. The facts are that the leadership team at MAHEC made the decision to leave Mission Health Partners and switch to a different Accountable Care Organization. This was not a decision Mission Health made. While MAHEC decided to no longer be a participating provider in Mission Health Partners, they do remain in-network with Aetna, the insurance provider for Mission Health employees. Their coverage benefits may differ from what they were as part of Mission Health Partners, and we cannot speak to why they did not communicate their decision to their patients.

“We value our relationship with MAHEC and would welcome the opportunity for them to rejoin Mission Health Partners should they choose to do so. We have provided this list of current Mission Health Partners participants to our colleagues.”

Staffing: “It is disappointing that the union is once again not being honest about the facts. Mission Hospital continues to prioritize our recruitment and retention efforts – adding more than 375 team members, attending more than 70 recruitment events since January and reducing RN turnover to 6% below the national average – and is annually among America’s and North Carolina’s Best Hospitals by Healthgrades and Business North Carolina, respectively. We are proud of our hospital, our care teams and our physicians, and the daily feedback we receive from our patients confirms the excellent care they receive.”

MAHEC’S FULL STATEMENT:

“MAHEC has always valued our 50-year history of partnership with Mission. It is unfortunate that we are no longer in-network for Mission/HCA employees for certain services and would welcome the opportunity to be fully part of their network again. We are committed to creating a healthier community in Western North Carolina and beyond and remain hopeful that continued dialogue will lead to a resolution.”