BOSTON (AP) - Tufts Medical Center says some doctors at the
hospital will no longer accept some Blue Cross Blue Shield HMO
members after Jan. 31 because the insurer refuses to pay those
doctors at a "reasonable rate."

Tufts officials tell The Boston Globe they had no choice but to
begin phasing out Blue Cross coverage after 11 months of failed
negotiations with the state's largest insurer.

Hospital executive director Ellen Zane says Blue Cross pays
Tufts doctors 20 to 40 percent less than other major teaching
hospitals. She says the hospital has lost $25 million treating Blue
Cross patients in the past five years.

A spokesman for Blue Cross called the move a "negotiating
tactic." Jay McQuaide tells The Associated Press the decision
affects 200 doctors and just 14,000 of its 3 million members.