Time is running out for MaineHealth's flagship hospital and Anthem to reach a deal, the health system's CEO, Andy Mueller, MD, said in a June 24 opinion piece on centralmaine.com.
The system made the decision in March that Portland-based Maine Medical Hospital will leave Anthem's provider network in January, citing more than $70 million in unpaid claims from the payer over the past three years.
Dr. Mueller said MaineHealth and the payer have remained at the table since fall 2021. He said Anthem presented what it described as a framework for a full settlement and the health system entered into near-daily conversations, ready to compromise.
However, he alleged Anthem refused to compromise further "anytime we sought change that would actually alter how they do business with us."
"We know that, even though Anthem subscribers will have nine months to prepare, this will affect them, and we deeply regret having to do this," Dr. Mueller said. "But we did it because Anthem’s behavior poses an existential threat to MaineHealth and Maine Medical Center."
Anthem, for its part, has accused Maine Medical Center of overcharging patients for years.