Local residents concerned about in-network doctor availability between Froedtert South and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield can officially breathe a sigh of relief.
After months of negotiations, the two companies announced Friday they had formalized an agreement to keep Froedtert South and the Froedtert South Medical Group in Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s network through Dec. 31, 2020.
The agreement provides Anthem members in-network access to services at Kenosha Medical Center, St. Catherine’s Medical Center and with all Froedtert South Medical Group clinics and affiliated physicians throughout southeast Wisconsin and northern Illinois, according to a joint news release from the companies.
“This new agreement will provide our patients with a continued continuity of care combining excellent regional medical center care at a local level and the highest of tertiary and quaternary care with our partner Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin,” said Ric Schmidt, president and CEO of Froedtert South.
The agreement is also retroactive to Jan. 1, meaning care received by Anthem members at Froedtert South since the first of the year will be covered at in-network benefit levels.
“Our members remained our No. 1 priority as we worked towards a fair agreement that’s in their best interests,” said Paul Nobile, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Wisconsin. “We’re pleased our members in southeast Wisconsin will continue to have Froedtert South as a choice within our network of high-quality, affordable health care providers.”
Ads cause concerns
Advertisements underwritten by Froedtert South began causing a stir among community members in October. The advertisements, which also ran in the Kenosha News, announced that, as of Jan. 1, more than 200 Froedtert South (formerly United Hospital System) physicians would no longer provide health care services to Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield consumers.
Though Froedtert South expressed at that time that the ads were placed in order to inform individuals and employers of the potential loss of doctors from the network of coverage, the ads frightened many residents, including those serviced by the Kenosha County Aging and Disability Resource Center.
“(Losing physicians) hits people, especially those with chronic health conditions who depend on these relationships,” said Carolyn Feldt, manager of the center’s elder and disability services, after the advertisements first started appearing in the paper.
Cease-and-desist letter
In November, Anthem sent Froedtert a cease-and-desist order in response to its ad campaign, in order to prevent the hospital system from running future ads during the negotiation process.
“Those ads contain several inaccuracies and needlessly alarmed Anthem Medicare Supplement members that would not be impacted, even if Froedtert South chooses to leave the network,” said Jeff Blunt, public relations director for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Wisconsin, in a Nov. 12 Kenosha News article.
Schmidt defended the advertisements at that time, stating that, while Anthem felt the ads were a breach of the confidentiality of the negotiations, Froedtert felt “compelled to tell the public that by Dec. 31 they won’t have full covered insurance.”
‘Mutually accepted agreement’
Friday’s announcement effectively ended the tensions between Froedtert and Anthem that had played out in the public for the past several months, tensions that held up right down to the wire as the current agreement deadline closed in and passed.
The previous agreement between Anthem and Froedtert South expired on Dec. 31, 2017, but talks continued until the parties reached a mutually acceptable agreement.
“Froedtert South, as a member of the Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin health network, is pleased to continue its long-standing relationship with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield,” Schmidt said in a statement released Friday.
Date: Jan 05, 2018