{"id":9152,"date":"2023-07-05T08:48:58","date_gmt":"2023-07-05T08:48:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/distilinfo.com\/healthplan\/?p=9152"},"modified":"2023-07-05T08:51:48","modified_gmt":"2023-07-05T08:51:48","slug":"mercy-health-providers-no-longer-in-network-for-anthem-bcbs-medicaid-patients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/distilinfo.com\/healthplan\/mercy-health-providers-no-longer-in-network-for-anthem-bcbs-medicaid-patients\/","title":{"rendered":"Mercy Health Providers No Longer In-Network for Anthem BCBS Medicaid Patients"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mercy Health providers and facilities are now out of network for Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicaid patients due to failed negotiations. The change took effect on July 1, but Mercy Health will continue serving Anthem patients in Ohio until July 31 to allow for a smoother transition. Patients are encouraged to contact the Ohio Office of Medicaid to transfer to an alternative plan. Emergency treatment at Mercy Health hospitals remains accessible. Anthem previously faced a similar situation with Christ Hospital Health Network.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mercy Health providers and facilities are no longer considered in-network for individuals with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicaid insurance, as stated in a press release by a Mercy Health spokesperson. Despite ongoing negotiations that lasted for months, an agreement could not be reached, leading to this change.<\/p>\n

The transition took effect on July 1, but Mercy Health has announced that it will continue to serve Anthem patients in Ohio until July 31. This grace period is intended to assist patients in finding alternative insurance plans, ensuring they maintain long-term access to the doctors and facilities they are familiar with and trust.<\/p>\n

To facilitate the process, Mercy Health advises all Anthem Ohio Managed Medicaid patients to contact the Ohio Office of Medicaid at 1-800-324-8680 during July. By initiating a just cause transfer to an alternative managed Medicaid plan, patients can secure continued access to Mercy Health facilities and providers.<\/p>\n

Mercy Health clarifies that it remains contracted with all Managed Medicaid plans in Ohio, except for Anthem, and will continue to serve patients under new health plans.<\/p>\n

The company expresses its commitment to ongoing negotiations to guarantee access to care at convenient Mercy Health locations when needed. Mercy Health urges Anthem to prioritize the well-being of its Ohio Managed Medicaid members in both present and future decisions.<\/p>\n

Emergency treatment at Mercy Health hospitals will remain accessible to all patients, irrespective of their network status with Anthem.<\/p>\n

Anthem’s strained relationship with healthcare providers is not limited to Mercy Health. In March, The Christ Hospital Health Network faced similar challenges but eventually reached an agreement with Anthem after protracted negotiations. However, coverage was initially uncertain. Anthem was described as a difficult negotiator by a spokesperson for Christ Hospital.<\/p>\n

According to the announcement, the new agreement between Anthem and Christ Hospital will build upon their longstanding partnership to deliver improved healthcare for their shared patient population.<\/p>\n

In the absence of an agreement before April 1, patients may have been required to pay out-of-pocket expenses.<\/p>\n

Anthem previously stated WCPO, stating that The Christ Hospital Health Network intended to leave their care provider network unless Anthem allowed substantial price increases, which were deemed unacceptable. Anthem argued that such price hikes, more than double the current inflation rate for hospital services, would burden consumers with significantly higher out-of-pocket costs and increased insurance premiums. Anthem claimed to have offered responsible increases to The Christ Hospital, in line with those accepted by other local health systems and included additional value-based payments based on industry standards for quality care. Anthem expressed its commitment to continuing negotiations in good faith to preserve members’ access to quality and affordable care at Christ Hospital and with their employed physicians.<\/p>\n

WCPO has sought comment from Anthem regarding the recently failed negotiations with Mercy Health but has not yet received a response.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mercy Health providers and facilities are now out of network for Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicaid patients due to… Continue Reading <\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9153,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9152","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-distilinfo-originals","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/distilinfo.com\/healthplan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9152"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/distilinfo.com\/healthplan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/distilinfo.com\/healthplan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/distilinfo.com\/healthplan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/distilinfo.com\/healthplan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9152"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/distilinfo.com\/healthplan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9152\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9156,"href":"https:\/\/distilinfo.com\/healthplan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9152\/revisions\/9156"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/distilinfo.com\/healthplan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/distilinfo.com\/healthplan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/distilinfo.com\/healthplan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/distilinfo.com\/healthplan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}