Hartford HealthCare says it has reached a deal with Aetna today and they have a new three-year agreement effective Jan. 1, 2018, when the current contract expires.
Hartford Healthcare said the new contract includes all Aetna members in commercial, employer-based healthcare and Aetna Medicare Advantage plans and hospitals included in the agreement are Hartford Hospital, The Hospital of Central Connecticut, MidState Medical Center, Backus Hospital and Windham Hospital.
They said the contract also includes numerous Hartford HealthCare programs and services, as well as about 2,000 physicians and medical professionals.
While this agreement came together three months before the current contract expires, the contract between Hartford HealthCare and Anthem expired at the end of September and they have failed to come to a new in-network provider agreement.
That means hundreds of thousands of Anthem policyholders will now be treated as “out-of-network” patients in Hartford Healthcare facilities.
In dueling statements, each did pledge to work with the other to come to an agreement, but a statement released by Anthem pointed the finger firmly at Hartford Healthcare.
“Anthem is seeking for HHC to agree to increases that are comparable to increases accepted by other hospitals in the state,” the statement said. “HHC is requesting a rate increase that is two to three times the rate of inflation and that is not acceptable to us, and not acceptable to our members.”
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David Whitehead, Hartford Healthcare’s executive vice president, said in a statement, “We are working hard to resume our partnership with Anthem, and we are committed to reaching a fair agreement with Anthem — one that allows us to operate in a sustainable way while protecting access to caregivers you trust and providing the quality care you deserve. It is our hope that Anthem will work in good faith to agree to a new contract.”
