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Customers of a Midlands health care system could be at risk of losing their in-network coverage, depending on the outcome of ongoing negotiations with one of the nation’s largest insurance companies.

Lexington Medical Center this week sent out a notification to all of its patients who have Aetna insurance that the West Columbia-based health care provider could be dropped as an in-network option for the insurance giant.

“Lexington Medical Center is currently in negotiations with Aetna Healthcare on its commercial contract set to terminate on February 1, 2025,” the medical center said in a message sent to patients. “We are diligently working in good faith to remain an in-network provider with Aetna Healthcare, but our status is doubtful.”

The message was sent, Lexington Medical Center said, so that patients can consider making different selections for the health care coverage for the coming year.

“We know many of you are going through open enrollment with your employer and want to make the most informed decision when selecting health care coverage, which is why we are letting you know now,” the message said.

Besides its West Columbia hospital near Interstate 26, Lexington Medical Center operates 44 separate practices and specialists throughout the Midlands, from oncologists to podiatrists to urgent cares. All of them would be affected if negotiations between the health provider and the insurer don’t come to some kind of resolution.

While Lexington Medical Center said it would continue to serve Aetna customers, “you may be subject to the out-of-network terms of your health plan, which generally results in higher out-of-pocket costs to you,” it said.

The center offers financial assistance programs for patients, and ongoing treatments may be eligible for continuity of care during a transitional period while customers find another provider. Emergency services will also continue to be treated as in-network, the medical center said.

Asked for comment by The State, a Lexington Medical Center spokesperson said in a statement, “We are working to remain an in-network provider with Aetna Healthcare, and we hope to reach a mutually beneficial agreement to care for the patients we serve.”

In a statement sent via email, a spokesperson for Aetna’s parent company CVS Health said the company was likewise working to renew its contract with Lexington Medical.

”We are hopeful that we will reach an agreement that keeps them in our networks while keeping health care services affordable for our members and health plan sponsors,” the company said.

The State

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Bristow Marchant covers local government, schools and community in Lexington County for The State. He graduated from the College of Charleston in 2007. He has almost 20 years of experience covering South Carolina at the Clinton Chronicle, Sumter Item and Rock Hill Herald. He joined The State in 2016. Bristow has won numerous awards, most recently the S.C. Press Association’s 2023 faith reporting award for his coverage of the breakup of the United Methodist Church.

A man who’s a teacher at a Columbia-area school was arrested for assaulting two students this year, according to the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.

Jermaine Cornelius Singletary, 51, was charged with two counts of third-degree assault & battery, the sheriff’s department said Wednesday in a news release.

The sheriff’s department said Singletary teaches at Irmo Middle School. The Lexington-Richland 5 school is on Wesctott Road near the intersection with St. Andrews Road, in the area of Columbia between Harbison Boulevard and Lake Murray Boulevard.

While Singletary is listed on the roster of teachers on the school’s website, a link to his bio leads to an error page.

“School District Five of Lexington and Richland Counties received notification that a district employee has been arrested,” L-R 5 officials told The State when asked about Singletary. “We are cooperating fully with law enforcement in their investigation, and the employee is on administrative leave.”

The assaults involved two students in incidents that were separated by several months this year, according to the sheriff’s department release.

Singletary struck a student in March after he thought the student touched his head, the sheriff’s department said. The teacher hit another student in October after the student retrieved a portion of an assignment Singletary threw in a trash can, according to the release.

Information on the students’ conditions, and if they needed any medical treatment, was not available.

Singletary did not report either incident to school administrators, the sheriff’s department said.

“When we became aware of these two incidents, we opened our investigation and determined Singletary allegedly assaulted two students on two separate occasions,” Sheriff Jay Koon said in the release.

Singletary turned himself in Wednesday morning and was booked into the Lexington County Detention Center, the sheriff’s department said. No bond has been set and Singletary remains locked up, jail records show.

Following a bond hearing, the Columbia resident is scheduled to return to court on Nov. 19, Lexington County judicial records show.

If convicted on the misdemeanor assault and battery charges, Singletary faces a maximum punishment of 30 days in jail and a $500 fine for each count, according to South Carolina law.

There was no word what a conviction would mean to Singletary’s status with L-R 5, and if he would lose his teaching certification.

In a breaking news situation, facts can be unclear and the situation may still be developing. The State is trying to get important information to the public as quickly and accurately as possible. This story will be updated as more information becomes available, and some information in this story may change as the facts become clearer. Refresh this page later for more updated information.

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Noah Feit is a Real Time reporter with The State focused on breaking news, public safety and trending news. The award-winning journalist has worked for multiple newspapers since starting his career in 1999. Support my work with a digital subscription

A South Carolina woman woke up Tuesday morning and went to her apartment’s bathroom where she was met by a large snake that was behind the toilet, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department said.

It wasn’t a plumbing tool, and the reptile was not the woman’s pet.

An incident report said the woman screamed and called for help, an understandable reaction to unexpectedly finding a ball python at about 5 a.m. inside of an apartment in Columbia. Information on the length and estimated age of the brown and black snake wasn’t available.

Neither the woman nor the snake was hurt, as deputies who responded to Rice Terrace Apartments and Townhomes were able to extract the exotic animal, initially placing it in a pillowcase, according to the incident report.

“We were able to provide a solution to the resident quickly and save the snake’s life!” Master Deputy Alexandra Salrin told The State.

Other than possibly frayed nerves, the only damage reported was a bathroom that was flooded because of the snake, the incident report said. Information about how the snake caused the bathroom to flood was not available.

The apartment complex is at 107 Rice Terrace Drive, in a section of Columbia between Hardscrabble Road and Longtown Road, near Ridge View High School.

The woman who found the snake first called a friend, then they both reached out to law enforcement for help, according to the incident report. Master Deputy Shannon Huffman, a member of the Community Action Team, responded to the apartment, “and knew exactly what to do!” the sheriff’s department said.

Huffman has been with the sheriff’s department for almost 4 years, according to Salrin.

Huffman’s efforts were shared on social media, While it’s common for the sheriff’s department to be called to an animal-related issue, it’s unusual to have to assist in incidents involving exotic animals such as snakes, according to Salrin.

“This was definitely a unique call for service for us,” Salrin said.

Despite the unusual nature of the call, deputies are trained to deal with a variety of situations, according to Salrin.

“We prepare our deputies to expect to be called to incidents that they never expected to be dealing with and our deputies are trained to assess the situation and determine if there is another agency or specialized unit that needs to assist,” Salrin said. “Thankfully, in this situation, (Master Deputy) Huffman has experience with a variety of animals and was comfortable dealing with the snake.”

The sheriff’s department doesn’t know how the snake ended up in the apartment. Because of the size of the snake, Salrin said there is speculation that the snake is someone’s pet and may have escaped from another apartment in the complex.

“However, that cannot be confirmed because no one has come forward” to claim the snake, Salrin said.

The snake won’t be left to fend for itself, as it was taken home by one of the sheriff’s department’s Operations deputies, according to Salrin.

In a breaking news situation, facts can be unclear and the situation may still be developing. The State is trying to get important information to the public as quickly and accurately as possible. This story will be updated as more information becomes available, and some information in this story may change as the facts become clearer. Refresh this page later for more updated information.

This story was originally published November 6, 2024, 8:06 AM.

The South Carolina Gamecocks (5-3) face No. 24 Vanderbilt at 4:15 p.m. Saturday at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. The game will air on SEC Network.

A win would give USC six wins and bowl eligibility with three games to go in the regular season.

It could be a wet afternoon in Nashville. It’s raining just before kickoff, and there’s a 70% chance of showers into the evening.

Rocket Sanders scores his third touchdown of the night on a 43-yard pass from QB LaNorris Sellers. The drive went 61 yards on just two plays and lasted 1:20 and was set up by a turnover on downs.

The Gamecocks go up by two scores again with another Rocket Sanders touchdown run. Sanders scores from a yard out on a drive in which he had four carries and 49 yards.

The Commodores get on the board with a 17-yard touchdown run from QB Diego Pavia. The score capped a 10 plays, 75-yard drive that lasted 5:13.

USC got off to a quick start after half when QB LaNorris Sellers found TE Joshua Simon and receiver Jared Brown down field for big chunk plays of 20 and 51 yards respectively. RB Raheim “Rocket” Sanders then ran it in from 33 yards out. The drive lasted 1:38 and went 75 yards on three plays.

After USC recovered the fumble towards the end of the first quarter, QB LaNorris Sellers connected with receiver Nyck Harbor for a 23-yard pass. That set Sellers up to find TE Joshua Simon for a 17-yard touchdown to draw first blood for the Gamecocks.

The drive went 81 yards on 12 plays and lasted 4:45.

After the first quarter, neither team has drawn first blood. The Gamecocks went on a six-minute drive that resulted in a missed field goal by Alex Herrera.

After USC forced another Vanderbilt punt, QB LaNorris Sellers fumbled, ending his positive streak of not turning the ball over. It was forced by Miles Capers and recovered by Langston Patterson.

Vandy QB Diego Pavia fumbled it right back, forced and recovered by Kyle Kennard.

South Carolina, according to Saturday’s final availability report from the SEC, will be without RB Matthew Fuller, LB Mo Kaba, DB Buddy Mack III, OL Jakai Moore and defensive tackles Nick Barrett and DeAndre Jules.

The Gamecocks will wear garnet helmets, white jerseys and garnet pants in Saturday’s game.

South Carolina is favored by 6 points over Vanderbilt, according to the VegasInsider consensus line that factors in multiple sportsbooks. the over-under is 45 points.

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This story was originally published November 9, 2024, 3:34 PM.