Agreement on a new contract between Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Hartford HealthCare will not stop state lawmakers from reviewing the seven-week dispute that disrupted health care for tens of thousands of patients in Connecticut.
The General Assembly’s insurance and real estate committee has scheduled an “informational forum” and public hearing for Tuesday, House chairman Rep. Sean Scanlon said Friday.
Anthem and Hartford HealthCare came to an agreement last weekend in a deal that is retroactive to Oct. 1, when the previous contract expired.
“While I’m glad that the two sides were finally able to reach a deal, their inability to reach one for seven weeks negatively impacted thousands of Connecticut families and I think we owe it to the citizens of this state to find out what happened and how we can avoid prolonged disputes like this in the future,” said Scanlon, a Guilford Democrat.
Representatives from Anthem and Hartford HealthCare, state Comptroller Kevin Lembo and state Healthcare Advocate Ted Doolittle will testify, Scanlon said.
“My office has been getting calls and emails from people with truly unsettling stories whose lives were impacted by this dispute,” he said.
Scanlon encouraged anyone who was affected by the dispute to attend the hearing and provide information or submit to online testimony at instestimony@cga.ct.gov.
With the end of the previous contract Sept. 30, Hartford HealthCare, which includes numerous hospital in the state, was suddenly out of network for tens of thousands of patients. Those patients were faces with limited health care and sharply higher prices.
Elected officials, employers and others sharply criticized Anthem and Hartford HealthCare for taking so long to end the impasse. Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney has promised to reintroduce legislation establishing a binding arbitration process to settle contract disputes between insurers and hospitals when the parties fail to do so.
Date: Nov 24, 2017