MU Health Care and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield are working toward a new agreement ahead of March 31, when the current contracts are set to expire, according to a news release.
MU Health Care has been sending notifications to patients and partners to "provide ample notice" about the negotiations, the news release said.
If the contracts expire before an agreement is reached, MU Health Care's services and physicians would be out of network for Anthem starting April 1.
"That's what we're trying to avoid," said Laura Morris, MU Health Care's chief medical officer for ambulatory care.
The news release said Anthem or other Blue Cross Blue Shield plans that patients get through their employer would become out of network, in addition to Medicare Advantage, the Affordable Care Act marketplace and HealthLink plans.
Daniel Ahner, a retired insurance arbitrator, said he received a notification from MU Health Care at 5 a.m. Wednesday and said he currently has insurance through Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield. Ahner said he has been a patient with MU Health Care for almost four years.
"Should their negotiations not be successful, MU Health Care would be considered to be an out-of-network system," Ahner said. "My doctors who have zero copays would now have copays on them. The emergency room care, urgent care, any kind of x-rays, MRIs ... And to switch all that over can be a total nightmare."
A network change would not impact Mizzou Pharmacy retail services, patients with Healthy Blue Medicaid, University of Missouri Student Advantage plans or the delivery of medically necessary emergency care, according to the news release.
“We are doing everything we can to continue our participation in the Anthem network in order to maintain our patients’ in-network access to MU Health Care, but a new, fair network agreement is essential to our ability to provide high-quality, local care to our patients,” MU Health Care Chief Medical Officer Steve Whitt said.
The number of patients affected by this is more than 100,000 in the Missouri area.
"It just puts a lot of people in a financial struggle for health care," Ahner said. "And health care, as you well know, is tough already. This would just add to that factor."
Patients are encouraged to keep all scheduled appointments and procedures with MU Health Care and avoid delaying routine health screenings, procedures or important tests, the news release from MU Health Care said.
If you have questions about the negotiations, you can call MU Health Care's call center at (573) 650-5409 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Patients can also call Anthem at the number on the back of their insurance card.
Additional information and updates on the negotiation are available at muhealth.org/anthem
