Jan. 15, 2009 (Richardson, TX) — Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) and Texas Digestive Disease Consultants (TDDC) have agreed to renew TDDC’s status as in-network physicians for BCBSTX’s BlueChoice^® PPO, HMO Blue^® and PAR Plan. The effective date of the agreement is January 1, 2009.

"Both Blue Cross and TDDC agreed, following a series of productive discussions, that it was in the best interest of our customers and patients to work together to find common ground and come to an agreement," says Dr. James J. Weber, president, Texas Digestive Disease Consultants.

"We are pleased to reinstate our relationship with Texas Digestive Disease Consultants," says Shannon Stansbury, vice president, Network Management, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas. "This agreement allows us to achieve one of our primary goals for our members in the Dallas/Fort Worth area — providing access to cost effective, quality care, which means in-network benefits and lower out-of-pocket costs for health care services provided by TDDC physicians."

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas -- the only statewide, customer-owned health insurer in Texas - is the largest provider of health benefits in the state, working with nearly 40,000 physicians and 400 hospitals to serve 4 million members in all 254 counties. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas is a division of Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), the country’s largest customer-owned health insurer and fourth largest health insurer overall. HCSC is a Mutual Legal Reserve Company and an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.