Hartford Healthcare and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield did not reach a contract agreement by their Oct. 1 deadline, which means the provider’s five hospitals are now out of Anthem’s network, the two announced Wednesday afternoon.
The split means that Anthem customers will likely pay more for services at Hartford Healthcare facilities. Patient visits HHC’s physician’s medical group will not be affected, Hartford Healthcare said.
“We need Anthem to partner with Hartford Healthcare as we transition health care to a value-based model, which focuses on improving quality outcomes, lowering costs and improving access to care for the patients and communities that rely on us,” Hartford Healthcare said in a statement.
Anthem confirmed in its own statement that no agreement had been reached.
“Our nurse case managers are working closely with our members to transition their care to other high quality in-network hospitals and providers, or continue their care at HHC’s hospitals when clinically necessary,” Anthem said.
The insurer noted that its Connecticut network still includes St. Francis Hospital, Yale New Haven Health, Western Connecticut Health Network and others.
The two have been in negotiations for months. Anthem warned in August of an impasse, saying that Hartford Healthcare was demanding a “double-digit” increase on medical service reimbursement rates for a one-year renewal term. Hartford Healthcare denied that it asked for an increase that large.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman released a statement Wednesday calling on the two to return to the negotiating table.
“We want to make sure that everyone in our state has access to affordable, high-quality healthcare,” Malloy and Wyman said. “We simply cannot let profit margins stand in the way of that goal.”
If a deal is not reached by Nov. 1, other Hartford Healthcare facilities — including Natchaug Hospital, Rushford, VNA HealthCare, Southington Care Center and Jerome Home — will also split from Anthem’s network.
Attorney General George Jepsen and Healthcare Advocate Victoria Veltri said in their own statement that they were “profoundly disappointed” no contract had been reached.
“We are very concerned about the impact that this situation will have on the thousands of Connecticut residents who now find that their hospital provider is no longer in network,” they said.
