Thousands of retired Fresno Unified employees abruptly lost access to health care services from Community Medical Centers on New Year’s Day, and it’s unclear when the situation will be resolved.
The disruption happened because one of Fresno Unified’s insurers, Aetna, was unable to reach an agreement with Community Medical Centers by the Dec. 31 deadline. As a result, Aetna removed Community Medical Centers and Community Health Partners from its provider network effective Jan. 1.
Approximately 6,200 retirees and dependents are enrolled in the Aetna program, and 1,500 of them received primary care services at Community Medical Centers at the time of the disruption, according to Fresno Unified…