The deadline was September 1, 2026. It came and went without a contract.
CHI St. Vincent and Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield are officially out of network as of this week. Months of negotiations produced no agreement — and Arkansas patients who carry Blue Cross coverage and need care at a St. Vincent facility are now looking at out-of-network costs that, depending on their specific plan, could be significantly higher than what they would have paid last week.
Talks have not stopped. But the contract has lapsed. Those are two different things — and right now, the lapse is what matters.
How Many People and Which Hospitals
CHI St. Vincent operates four hospitals across Arkansas: St. Vincent Infirmary in Little Rock, St. Vincent North in Sherwood, St. Vincent Morrilton, and St. Vincent Hot Springs. The system also runs approximately 80 clinics across the state.
The specific number of affected patients has not been publicly disclosed by either party. Dr. William “Gerry” Jones, the Market President at CHI St. Vincent, referenced “thousands of patients” in public statements. Arkansas Blue Cross serves approximately 1.4 million Arkansans across all of its plans — a significant portion of the state’s 3.1 million residents…