Anthem Proposes Mediation To End Stalemate With Hartford HealthCare

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield is pushing Hartford HealthCare to agree to mediation to end a contract stalemate that has reached its seventh week and is causing tens of thousands of people in Connecticut to pay more for health care.

On Monday, the insurer requested the hospital group reach out jointly with Anthem to JAMS, a nationally recognized dispute resolution organization, in an attempt to end the standoff, which has led to Anthem customers paying higher, out-of-network rates for treatment at Hartford HealthCare facilities since a previous contract expired on Sept. 30.

Hartford Healthcare has not publicly responded to Anthem’s request for mediation.

Meanwhile, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s chief spokeswoman said the governor has become “increasingly concerned” about the impasse.

“It is imperative that the two parties come back together to reach an agreement, which ensures that the people in their care continue to receive quality services at an affordable price,” said Kelly Donnelly, Malloy’s communications director.

Darren J. Walsh, principal at Power and Walsh Insurance Advisors Inc., a Fairfield insurance broker, said negotiations between insurers and hospital groups are not normally this protracted, almost always getting resolved before the prior contract ends or in the days after.

“I anticipate it will get done at some point,” he said. “There’s so much pressure being put on … both sides.”

Connecticut’s congressional delegation and state Comptroller Kevin Lembo have both weighed in on the dispute, as has the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition, which represents 45,000 state employees and 25,000 retirees.

On Sunday, after The Courant published a story describing in detail the effect the dispute was having on patients, including people who had surgeries postponed or were rationing their medication, Anthem released an email Jill Hummel, head of its Connecticut office, sent to top officials at Hartford HealthCare asking for a mediator to be introduced.

The email also accused the hospital group of failing to be responsive to counteroffers that Anthem had made in recent weeks.

“We are confused by Ms. Hummel’s characterization of our negotiations with Anthem — we have, in fact, responded to Anthem’s latest offer and made compromises,” Shawn Mawhiney, a spokesman for Hartford HealthCare, said Monday. “However, we are fully committed to negotiating at the bargaining table, not in the media.”

Mawhiney said the hospital group “remains dedicated to reaching a fair agreement with Anthem” but did not address the insurer’s request for a mediator.

Sarah Yeager, an Anthem spokeswoman, said Hartford HealthCare had responded to their latest offer, but only after it was reported in the press that they were unresponsive.

“We also prefer to not negotiate via the media, but unfortunately obviously it was necessary as it took today’s media coverage for HHC to respond to Anthem’s proposal from Nov. 3,” she said.

In 2015, lawmakers tried to address the issue of standoffs between insurers and hospital groups with two pieces of legislation: one making the disputes subject to binding arbitration and another requiring those that can’t reach a deal to abide by the old contract terms for 60 days. Neither bill passed.

Walsh, the insurance broker, said the contract dispute is a “major concern” for his customers who have Anthem, but it has also provided a level of transparency that isn’t normally seen in negotiations between insurers and health care providers.

Anthem has said prices at Hartford HealthCare hospitals have increased by more than 65 percent since 2010. And if the hospital group gets the price increases it is asking for costs will jump by more than 90 percent from 2010-2020, the insurer said.

“I call for more of that” disclosure, Walsh said. “We all should know what it is that [Hartford HealthCare] is asking for and the justification.”

Mawhiney said Hartford HealthCare was working to keep costs down and took a parting shot at Anthem: “We are doing our best to transform health care by reinvesting in Connecticut, rather than sending profits to Indianapolis.”

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