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NORFOLK, Va. — Bon Secours and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield have been in negotiations since last October, affecting the Medicare Advantage contract in Virginia and elsewhere.
The health system’s Medicare Advantage contract with Anthem in the Commonwealth is coming to an end and their negotiations to renew the contract have broken down.
Bon Secours wrote in a press release that negotiations are still at an impasse, meaning that doctors and caregivers in the health system will be considered out-of-network for nearly 19,000 patients who have Anthem Medicare Advantage health insurance.
According to the health system, Anthem isn’t paying enough to doctors and nurses to keep up with inflation.
However, a spokesperson with Anthem released the following statement:
Bon Secours Mercy Health has chosen to leave Anthem’s Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s Medicare Advantage provider network effective today as a negotiating tactic to raise prices for Anthem’s employer-based and ACA members by three times the current hospital rate. Later this fall, Bon Secours also plans to terminate its contract to care for Anthem Medicaid members, again breaking a contract that was in place until 2025 as a bargaining chip to drive costs higher for people covered through their employers or the ACA. We have repeatedly asked Bon Secours to rescind this contract termination and avoid care disruption for these vulnerable populations.
We are helping our Medicare Advantage members transition elective care to one of the many other available health systems, physicians, and facilities in our network. We are also working to assist members who require continued care with their current provider for certain serious and complex conditions. Please see www.Anthem.com/BonSecoursVirginia for the latest information on Bon Secours’ decision to leave Anthem’s network.
In response, a spokeswoman with Bon Secours released the following statement:
For decades, we have been providing health care to our community. Our focus is, and will always be, providing quality, compassionate care for each person who comes through our door.
Bon Secours and Anthem have been in negotiations for the past ten months. We need Anthem to fairly reimburse our health system for the cost of providing high-quality care. Effective August 1, Bon Secours is considered out of network for patients in Virginia with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare Advantage as their primary insurance. Patients with other Anthem coverage are not impacted.
It is disheartening that Anthem has eliminated access for patients who have trusted relationships with Bon Secours facilities and providers. Visit our website at for more information on what this means for impacted patients and what can be done to remain in-network with your Bon Secours provider and facilities.
Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment starts October 15. Talk to your broker, or call the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services at 1-800-633-4227, to explore your options. Bon Secours remains in-network with all other major Medicare Advantage health plans in Virginia.
All patients will continue to have access to all Bon Secours hospitals in cases of emergency treatment, regardless of the network status with Anthem.
Bon Secours’ Maryview Medical Center, Mary Immaculate Hospital, and Southampton Medical Center in Hampton Roads will be affected by the changes.
Patients with an Anthem Medicare Advantage PPO plan Bon Secours doctors will go out of network and those with HMO plans will need to apply for continuity of care to see their doctors.
These changes are effective as of August 1.
You can visit Bon Secours’ site for resources on what the changes mean, if you’re affected, and how to navigate insurance coverage.
Thousands will keep their OB/GYN coverage after Mid-Atlantic Women’s Care reached an agreement with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) effective Aug. 1.
The new three-year contract will allow the OB/GYN group to stay in-network, ensuring that patients can keep their providers without disrupted coverage. The group’s practices include:
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