Sierra in pact with Valley hospitals

Monday, Sept. 9, 2002 | 11:23 a.m.

Sierra Health Services Inc. of Las Vegas, Nevada's largest health insurer, today said its customers can be treated at three Universal Health Services Inc. hospitals in Las Vegas under a contract effective Oct. 1.

The deal is with Universal's Valley Health System, owner of Valley, Summerlin and Desert Springs hospitals.

The agreement is for members of Sierra's Health Plan of Nevada and Sierra Health & Life Insurance Co. health plans. Together they insure some 285,000 people.

Sierra and Universal have resolved a dispute in which they sued each other. The controversy arose in 1998 when Valley sued Sierra for withholding $1.5 million in payments. Sierra withheld the money to recover funds it said were owed by a Universal hospital in Northern Nevada. That dispute had ended Sierra's relationship with the Valley hospitals in Las Vegas.

"Since Valley Health and Sierra reached agreements on both lawsuits, our relationship has improved and we're confident the new partnership will provide insured Sierra members with a greater choice of who provides their hospital care," said Mike Tymczyn, spokesman for Valley Health System.

Sierra said the deal means its insurance subsidiaries now have contracts with every major hospital in the Las Vegas area.