Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health and Anthem Blue Cross of California are in a disagreement over rates, according to NPR.
As a result, negotiations have stalled between the health insurer, which covers tens of thousands of members in Northern California, and Sutter, which operates 24 hospitals and has about 5,000 network physicians. Affected members can still access Sutter facilities and see Sutter providers for the next six months at in-network rates.
In an emailed statement to NPR, Sutter spokesperson Amy Thoma Tan said, "We are in active negotiations with Anthem Blue Cross and recognize that a timely agreement — one that protects access and choice — is in the best interest of our patients, employers, hospitals and clinicians."
Anthem Blue Cross spokesperson Eric Lail provided the publication the following statement: "As we negotiate with providers, we try to strike a balance between protecting affordability and providing a broad network of providers to create choices, which can take time."
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