bcbs Common Spirit Deal with Anthem Affects Colorado Health Care

BCBS Common Spirit's deal with Anthem has significant implications for Colorado's healthcare landscape. This partnership will impact thousands of Coloradans who rely on BCBS for their health insurance.

The deal is expected to result in cost savings and improved access to care for BCBS members. This is due to Anthem's extensive network of providers and hospitals.

For Colorado residents, this means that BCBS will have a stronger network of providers and hospitals to draw from. This can lead to better health outcomes and more convenient care options.

Neither side disclosed the terms of the new 5-year contract, which dictates the rates Anthem will pay for care at CommonSpirit facilities.

The disagreement between Anthem and CommonSpirit was over how much Anthem should pay for its customers to receive care at CommonSpirit facilities.

The two sides had been negotiating for over two weeks, causing uncertainty for patients.

Neither Anthem nor CommonSpirit released any information about the rates they ultimately agreed on.

The lack of transparency about the contract terms is notable, given the significant impact it will have on patients and the healthcare system.

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield and CommonSpirit reached a 5-year agreement to keep 11 CommonSpirit Health hospitals in Colorado in Anthem's network.

The agreement is retroactive to May 1, when the previous contract expired, and covers commercial, Medicare Advantage, and individual plans.

More than 40,000 CommonSpirit patients in Colorado have Anthem BCBS plans.

This long-term agreement ensures care provider network stability for Anthem members and cost-predictability for Colorado employers.

Anthem Colorado President Matt Pickett stated that the agreement will provide stability and predictability for years to come.

The partnership between Anthem and CommonSpirit will allow patients to continue receiving care from the doctors and nurses they know and trust.

CommonSpirit Health has been involved in contract negotiations with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, and Anthem.

They already have some of the highest reimbursement rates in Colorado.

Dignity Health is using an "all or nothing" strategy in contract negotiations, which means either all its facilities are in the insurer's network or none are.

This approach allows them to increase their market power to get higher prices, which isn't necessarily good for consumers.

CommonSpirit Health has notified Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas that they intend to leave the network on Dec. 16, 2020.

They are proposing rate increases that would drive up the cost of health care in several southeast Texas communities.