OLDSMAR, Fla. — Thousands of BayCare patients could be forced to find new providers if the health care system and Florida Blue insurance can't agree on a new contract by Sept. 30.

"I could be doing all this worrying, and it could be one of those things where, like, 'Yeah, this always happens,' and you know, they'll work it out," said BayCare patient and Florida Blue policy holder Roberta Thorpe. "But I'm not getting that feeling."

Thorpe was among the 215,000 policy holders a BayCare spokesperson said the company reached out to last week about the negotiations. Thorpe said she received a letter on Friday.

"In recent months, BayCare has been working with Florida Blue to reach a new, fair network agreement that puts our patients' needs first and ensures your continued in-network access to BayCare hospitals, our laboratory services and BayCare Medical Group physicians," the letter reads. "Unfortunately, Florida Blue has so far been unwilling to reach an agreement that would guarantee we can sustain the services that patients like you depend on from the physicians you know and trust."

The letter goes on to say BayCare won't be considered part of Florida Blue's network if an agreement can't be reached.

"I was like, 'What?' I mean, panic set in," Thorpe, 80, said of her initial response.

Thorpe said Florida Blue is her secondary insurance and picks up on the cost of treatment where Medicare leaves off. 

"I don't think that there's any of my doctors or hospitals or labs or physical therapy or anything that's not on BayCare," she said. "So, it would mean between now and Oct. 1, I have to try to find all new doctors for everything I named."

According to a Florida Blue media alert, BayCare initiated the negotiations. It said BayCare is asking for a double-digit percentage increase for hospital services and two-to-three times more for their physicians, imaging and certain other services. The insurer said this would lead to an increase in prices for services and premiums.

"The rising cost of health care is putting it out of reach for far too many members of our Tampa Bay community," Florida Blue Market President David Pizzo said in a statement. "Skyrocketing rates are becoming an epidemic in our state. The increases BayCare is demanding would have to be absorbed by our members and employers in Tampa Bay through their monthly premiums, and we have no interest in placing undue hardship on our members given the current economic environment."

Florida Blue said 85,000 members who used BayCare's services in the past six months would be impacted if the provider was no longer in network.

The BayCare spokesperson said the provider is a not-for-profit organization, and a new agreement would allow it to invest in retaining and attracting physicians and new medical technologies.

"Every year, Florida Blue asks its members and employers to pay more for their health insurance coverage, but those increases are not proportionately shared with health care providers like BayCare," BayCare System Public Relations Manager Lisa Razler said via e-mail. "Instead, insurers like Florida Blue are shifting the cost of care to patients by demanding higher premiums and deductibles. Patients often find that, even though they pay high monthly premiums for health insurance, their insurance company still requires them to shoulder a large portion of their cost of care."

State Rep. Mike Beltran (R - Dist. 57), whose district covers part of Hillsborough County, wrote a letter to CEOs of both companies, slamming the back-and-forth.

"Your public communications are either wildly exaggerated or they reflect a completely unacceptable situation, or both," Beltran wrote. The letter goes on to say, "These tactics are hurtful to your reputations, disserve your patients and my constituents, and impair our ability to continue to treat with necessary doctors and specialists. I respectfully ask you to please resolve these negotiations quickly and fairly. Please concentrate on negotiations and cease communicating a parade of horribles to innocent women and children."

"BayCare sincerely hopes to reach agreement on a fair contract with Florida Blue prior Sept. 30," Razler said.

Florida Blue's media alert said it continues to negotiate with the health care system. In the meantime, Thorpe said the companies should provide more details to patients and customers like her about what's going on so they can plan for what's next.