ST. LOUIS — Mercy announced Wednesday that its services will remain in network for Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance plans in Missouri after a new multiyear agreement was reached.
Following months of unsuccessful negotiations, Mercy sent a written notice in September to its patients that its contracts with Anthem would expire on Jan. 1, 2025, unless the two sides were able to reach an agreement. The change would have moved Mercy providers out of network for all Anthem plans, including all commercial, Medicare Advantage, Affordable Care Act marketplace, managed Medicaid plans and HealthLink.
“The cost of providing actual care for patients has risen significantly due to inflation, but Anthem has not kept pace with those rising costs when it comes to reimbursing us for the care we provide to our communities,” Dave Thompson, Mercy’s senior vice president of population health and president of contracted revenue, had said in a statement.
An Anthem spokesperson had said Mercy was trying to force them to agree to "drastic price demands" and "charge our members and employers by five times the current inflation rate."
“There were times when I was worried this wouldn’t get resolved," said UFCW Local 655 President David Cook.
The new agreement, according to a news release from Mercy, provides Anthem members with "continued access to affordable, high-quality care at all Mercy hospitals, outpatients care centers and physicians offices across Missouri."
Missouri Care, Inc., which does business as Healthy Blue, has also reached an agreement for Healthy Blue Medicaid plans, meaning members will have uninterrupted in-network access to Mercy doctors and care sites, the release said.
“It’s going to be exactly the same," Cook said. "The value of these negotiations are that Anthem is able to maintain cost at a very good rate. That means I can provide good benefits, and continue to provide good benefits, for years to come.”
Mercy is the second-largest physician group in the St. Louis area, with more than 1,000 local physicians, according to analysis by the St. Louis Business Journal.
Thompson said there are "hundreds of thousands of Mercy patients with Anthem BCBS."
"Anthem is one of the biggest carriers in St. Louis and in Missouri," Cook said. "This was going to have a negative effect on anybody. I took an active role because I was concerned about my union members. I have to be honest with you, I was concerned about the general public. Nobody should have to worry about healthcare this time of year."