The ongoing dispute between Bupa and surgeons' representative bodies is now on the verge of entering its fourth month and has earned the title "saga" at COVER.
Unfortunately it seems to show no sign of ending either, with positions becoming further entrenched and more reinforcements, in the form of other medical bodies, being called in on both sides.
To cut what is now becoming a very long story short, in layman's terms, Bupa introduced a process to review all referrals for arthroscopic knee surgery by another surgeon to determine if it was essential to qualify for funding.
This drew the ire of surgeons who felt the private medical insurance (PMI) provider was questioning their medical judgments and inferring that unnecessary surgeries were being recommended to patients.
From there the argument has deepened into nuances and specifics of medical practice with the General Medical Council (GMC), National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and now the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) being dragged in.
What essentially lies at the heart of the problem is the rapid growth of medical costs and Bupa's attempts to keep premium increases as low as possible for its members.
This is understandable given the rate of medical inflation but also hints at the poor state of relations between insurers and medical practitioners that was highlighted by the Office of Fair Trading's (OFT) review of the private healthcare market instigated at the turn of the year.
Rather than inform policyholders and surgeons that certain surgeries would no longer be covered; Bupa's review process has touched a nerve.
The representative bodies have said they are happy to negotiate an agreement once Bupa halts its reviews, something Bupa is not currently prepared to do, suggesting it is working well.
From the outside looking in, this does not bode well for the future of either sector - making the possibility of intervention from the OFT's review more possible.
There is surely common ground to be found between the two sides - imagine the boost it would give those observing and involved if a resolution could be achieved.
