Connecticut lawmakers are holding hearings today about the now-settled impasse between Hartford HealthCare and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield to figure out how it happened and prevent it from happening again.
Democratic state Rep. Sean Scanlon, House chairman of the Insurance and Real Estate Committee, said Friday he's glad the sides ended their dispute last week, but lawmakers "owe it to the citizens of this state to find out what happened" and to learn how to avoid similar prolonged disputes in the future.
“This case, more than any other, demonstrates the need for legislative action to protect patients when large corporations fail to responsibly reach timely agreements,” Comptroller Kevin Lembo said, according to testimony his office released. “Make no mistake. This contract dispute was not a battle between good and evil, or David and Goliath. It was a fight between two large and powerful corporations that showed little regard for patients who were caught in the middle and merely used as cannon fodder.”
He said he heard from several patients whose lives were disrupted “during some of the most difficult times in their lives,” including people in active cancer treatment, people with scheduled joint replacement surgeries and pregnant women in need of timely prenatal care.
“The time has come for statewide patient protections – mandatory mediation, followed by mandatory binding arbitration,” he said.
An informational hearing began at 10 a.m. in Room 2C of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. A public hearing starts at noon.
Anthem and Hartford HealthCare had failed to reach an agreement Sept. 30 on a new contract, leaving thousands of patients facing higher out-of-network costs.
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The new three-year contract is retroactive to Oct. 1.
