Two months after announcing that negotiations had stalled, Northern Light Health is ending contract negotiations with Anthem.
In a letter to the insurance company, Northern Light accuses Anthem of using delay tactics rather than engaging in constructive discussions.
"Despite our repeated attempts to engage in timely and productive discussions, we have encountered delayed responses to our proposals and experienced canceled meetings initiated by your team," the letter states.
In a phone interview, chief financial officer James Rohrbaugh said Northern Light issued a counteroffer more than two weeks ago, and Anthem has yet to respond.
"And in fact this week in following up, shared with us that they didn't plan to send another offer," he said.
Rohrbaugh says Anthem has also reduced interim payments for services already provided over the course of negotiations.
Anthem spokesperson Jim Turner says the company remains committed to working with Northern Light, but that the health care system is seeking to raise prices by 30% over the next three years.
He adds, "It’s important to us to compensate Northern Light fairly — based, in part, on important health care quality measures. Northern Light has asked that we drop all quality-related compensation from our next contract, which concerns us."
Northern Light disputes that it's seeking a 30% price increase. Officials also point out that Anthem's parent company Elevance Health reported nearly $6 billion in profits last year.
If the two companies don't come back to the bargaining table, Northern Light will be out of network with Anthem starting in October with physician practices and hospital-based services by the end of the year, as well as all Anthem Medicare Advantage Plans.
