As of Wednesday, October 1, non-hospital providers at Northern Light Health are out-of-network with Anthem. The two parties have failed to meet an initial deadline to negotiate a new contract.
On Tuesday, Anthem issued a statement saying it asked Northern Light to extend the current contract while negotiations continue "to avoid care disruption for members."
Northern Light spokesperson Suzanne Spruce responded that the organization is committed to reach a resolution, but "Anthem has not given us any reason to believe that an extension of the contract at this time would be in the interest of our patients or Northern Light Health."
The two organizations have been deadlocked since June.
Anthem says Northern Light is seeking unreasonable rate hikes and the elimination of quality requirements. Northern Light says Anthem's rates haven't kept up with increasing costs, and that onerous paperwork is disrupting patient care.
If the parties can't reach an agreement, hospital-based services and Medicare Advantage at Northern Light will also be out of network with Anthem at the end of the year.
The legislature's Health Coverage, Insurance, and Financial Services committee will be briefed on contract negotiations Wednesday.
