Anthem, Hartford Healthcare, reach contract agreement
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Hartford Healthcare enter new three-year agreement retroactive to October 1.
On Saturday, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield announced it had reached an agreement with Hartford HealthCare on a new three-year contract.
The terms of the agreement were not released. Anthem called the terms, "a sustainable increase."
Hartford Healthcare called the agreement "fair."
[Also: Anthem attempts to settle contract dispute with Hartford HealthCare]
Effective immediately, all HHC's hospitals and affiliated providers will rejoin Anthem's network of participating providers.
The new agreement is retroactive to October 1. The former contract expired on September 30.
[Also: Anthem replaces CEO Joe Swedish with UnitedHealth executive]
Through ongoing negotiations, both Anthem and Hartford Healthcare blamed the other for the impasse. Anthem said the provider wanted too much money, but Sunday, Nov. 12, Anthem's president sent an email to Hartford Healthcare executives calling for a compromise through mediation.
Anthem in its statement Sunday did not say whether both sides used a mediator to settle the terms.
"Anthem recognizes the disruption caused by the negotiations and the significant impact it had on HHC patients and Anthem members," said Jill R. Hummel, president, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. "... We are happy that the end result is a fair agreement with sustainable increases and additional incentives that reward HHC hospitals for improvement in patient safety. "
All Anthem members who received covered healthcare services from HHC hospitals and affiliated providers on or after October 1 will receive coverage for these services at the in-network level of benefits as if there had been no disruption.
"We deeply understand and regret the inconvenience and disruption that being out of network has caused our patients and communities," said Jeffrey Flaks, CEO of Hartford HealthCare. "Connecticut residents deserve access to healthcare that is second to none. Our fair agreement with Anthem helps ensure that will be the case, and that we can continue to offer the highest quality, comprehensive, coordinated care to more people -- now and in the future."
"I am very glad that both sides focused on consumers and reached agreement," Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Katharine Wade said.
Twitter: @SusanJMorse
Email the writer: susan.morse@himssmedia.com
