Contract negotiations between MU Health Care and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield are still far apart according to MU Health Care Chief Operating Officer Tonya Johnson.
An agreement failed to be reached by a March 31st deadline. That left nearly 100,000 patients who are covered by Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield out of network when seeing MU Health Care.
Johnson told Missourinet they have come down significantly in what they are asking for as far as annual increases go from Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield.
“We are still looking at you know one to two percent increases annually, which don’t cover our cost of care or even our cost of inflation that we’re seeing. We’re extremely optimistic that we’ll reach an agreement in the foreseeable future, but of course that is still our hope,” said Johnson.
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield and MU Health Care had their last contract expire in April.
Anthem sent out a statement at the time saying MU Health Care wanted a 39% increase in costs spread out over three years, which Anthem said was too high.
Johnson said they have not made much headway in the negotiations because she said they have not seen the same amount of movement on the other side.
“We’re looking for parody with what they are paying other academic medical centers. And due to transparency in that data we’re about 30% behind. We’re also looking at decreasing some of the administrative burden that we have seen regarding prior authorization and denials. To give some perspective around that we have a team of 30 individuals dedicated just to Anthem. We have a team of 35 individuals for all other payors,” said Johnson.
This story has been updated as an Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield spokesperson provided the following statement to Missourinet.
The numbers MU Health Care has shared are not accurate. Anthem continues to offer annual rate increases above the Consumer Price Index (CPI), along with the opportunity to earn more through quality-based incentives. MU Health Care has rejected these offers.
Anthem also recently extended a proposal to MU Health Care to continue continuity of care for our most vulnerable members through December 31, 2025. MU Health Care declined that offer.
MU Health Care is rationalizing its unprecedented price increases by likening itself to state-affiliated academic health systems across the Midwest. Those other hospitals have earned much higher quality rankings than MU Health Care, which has maintained only a 2-star rating out of 5 from CMS.
We want MU Health Care in our network—but not at a rate Missourians can’t afford.