Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Chesapeake Regional Medical Center announced they “amicably” resolved their recent contract dispute.
In reaching a new contract, “Virginians covered by Anthem employer-based, Medicaid, Medicare Advantage, and individual health plans will have in-network access to Chesapeake Regional providers and care sites for several years,” a joint release said.
Chesapeake Regional Healthcare President and CEO Reese Jackson said they entered a three-year contract. Representatives from both companies did not provide answers to questions about what Anthem, also known as Elevance Health, will now pay Chesapeake on its members’ behalf. An Anthem representative said Friday such contracts are too complex to announce those details, which are private under the agreement.
“Caring for the Hampton Roads community is our priority,” Jackson said in an email. “It guides every decision, including our insurance partnerships.”
Hospitals are turning to price transparency data recently made available through federal law to provide insight on how they can remain sustainable while grappling with financial challenges such as unprecedented inflation, Jackson said Friday.
The resolution, first announced June 6, concludes about two months of public wrangling between the institutions, which published opinion columns about the dispute.
On April 20, Jackson wrote that hospitals all over the country are challenging “profit-driven” insurance companies, holding them accountable to ensure they put patients above profits.
“To understand why insurance companies are motivated to set different rates with different hospitals, it’s important to recognize that insurance companies are profit-driven. Anthem (Elevance Health) recorded almost $6 billion in profit last year alone,” Jackson wrote in the column. “Chesapeake Regional can see from publicly available data that Anthem is paying our community hospital 25% less for the exact same services than other nearby hospitals, even though the cost of staffing, supplies and drugs is relatively the same.”
On May 11, Monica Schmude, the president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Virginia, wrote that Chesapeake Regional was demanding increases at more than three times the inflation rate and passing the cost of its current expansion on to consumers.
“Our goal is to work collaboratively with Virginia’s care providers,” Schmude wrote. “That’s why we worked together with Chesapeake to increase payment rates just five months ago, why we have offered additional increases for the coming years that include quality incentives, and why Chesapeake is currently paid in line with other health systems of similar quality and size in the Commonwealth.”
Both leaders praised the resolution in the news release.
Anthem members may contact the member service phone number on their Anthem ID card for assistance with any questions. Chesapeake Regional patients may visit ChesapeakeRegional.com for assistance in finding options for care.
Have a health care or science story, question or concern? Text, call or email Katrina Dix, 757-222-5155, katrina.dix@virginiamedia.com
