About WellStar Health System
WellStar Health System is the largest health system in Georgia, with 11 hospitals and hundreds
of physician offices, urgent care centers, and outpatient facilities. Major hospitals include
WellStar Kennestone Regional Medical Center (one of the busiest in the state), WellStar Cobb
Hospital, WellStar Douglas Hospital, WellStar Paulding Medical Center, WellStar West Georgia
Medical Center, WellStar Atlanta Medical Center, and WellStar MCG Health in Augusta. WellStar
serves communities across the Metro Atlanta area and into rural West Georgia.
Which Plans Include WellStar?
WellStar participates in networks for most major commercial carriers in the Atlanta and Georgia
markets, including Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia (Anthem), Aetna, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare,
and Humana. Network participation is plan-specific — broad PPO products generally include
WellStar while narrow-network HMO and marketplace plans vary.
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia is the dominant carrier in the state and has broad
WellStar participation across most of its plan products. However, some newer narrow-network
Georgia marketplace products may exclude WellStar facilities in favor of lower-cost alternatives.
WellStar vs. Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta
Atlanta’s hospital market has three major systems: WellStar, Piedmont Healthcare, and
Emory Healthcare. WellStar dominates the Northwest and West Atlanta suburbs; Piedmont is
strong in midtown, Buckhead, and the North Atlanta suburbs; Emory anchors academic medicine
near Emory University. Most broad PPO plans include all three. HMO and narrow-network products
may be anchored to fewer systems.
WellStar Urgent Care and Insurance
WellStar operates a network of urgent care locations across Metro Atlanta. These share WellStar’s
overall network participation for most plans but urgent care copays and cost-sharing may differ
from hospital or physician office visits under the same plan. Confirm before your visit whether
the urgent care location is covered and what your specific cost-sharing will be.