Aetna is informing about 195,000 health care plan members that its contract with Hartford Hospital, Windham Hospital and MidState Medical Center is likely to be terminated after it refused to accept a 30 percent reimbursement hike over two years.
Jim Blazar, senior vice president and chief strategy officer for Hartford Healthcare and Hartford Hospital, said that the requested hike in reimbursement covers its costs and is similar to other hospitals in the Northeast.
“Covering our costs is the responsible thing to do for the community,” Blazar said. “We will do everything in our power that our patients won’t have any negative impact from all of this.”
Blazar said that Aetna’s counterproposal was “totally unreasonable and unacceptable,” and that Aetna gave Hartford Healthcare a 72-hour, take-it-or-leave-it offer.
If the contract is terminated, Aetna health plan members may still go to Hartford Healthcare doctors and hospitals, but will pay out-of-network rates for their services.
About 18,000 of Aetna’s Connecticut employees were informed in an Oct. 14 e-mail that it anticipates the contract with Hartford Health Care to terminate as of January.
“We are open to negotiations and to continue on payment levels that won’t unreasonably increase the cost of care for Connecticut residents and businesses,” said Ethan Slavin, an Aetna spokesman.
Blazar, who noted that Hartford Healthcare has recently reached agreements with three other health insurers, said that Hartford Healthcare also is hopeful negotiations with Aetna will be resumed.
Hartford Healthcare is setting up a hotline where patients with Aetna health care insurance can get information about how they can receive continuity of care if the contract is terminated as of Dec. 31.
