Patients insured by Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Wisconsin could find themselves unable to receive care from UW Health or face higher bills there if the parties do not reach a new contract agreement by April 15, the Wisconsin State Journal reports.
Anthem’s proposed payment rate increase is “well below the rate of inflation,” according to UW Health, while it has reportedly agreed to “much higher reimbursement rates for other Wisconsin health systems” and “is also demanding the ability to unilaterally change payment terms without renegotiation, which can put patient care at risk.”
Meanwhile, Anthem said UW Health received a price increase in early January and is now “requesting a 32% price increase over three years … more than four times the current rate of inflation in the first year alone for care at certain UW Health facilities.” Anthem called the requested price increases “excessive” and said they would “only make health care less affordable” for its members.
The two parties’ current, four-year contract will end by April 15 and, if they do not reach a new agreement by that time, UW Health said it will no longer be in the network for patients with Anthem’s private, Medicaid, or Medicare Advantage insurance plans.
Roughly 80,000, or 10%, of UW Health’s patients have Anthem insurance in Wisconsin, according to spokesperson Emily Greendonner.
