PORTLAND, Maine — More Maine hospitals are dealing with delayed payments from Anthem, according to several spokespeople.
MaineHealth CEO Andrew Mueller said Wednesday that the health system's flagship hospital, Maine Medical Center in Portland, will stop taking Anthem as an in-network provider on Jan. 1, 2023.
According to MaineHealth, Anthem owes them more than $70 million for health care services dating back more than three years. MaineHealth also said Anthem is withholding another $13 million related to disputes over how much MaineHealth should charge for services.
Northern Light Health, York Hospital, and MaineGeneral Medical Center's spokespeople all said they also are waiting on payments. MGMC's spokesperson said Anthem owes MGMC $30 million. Anthem's spokesperson said it owes MGMC less than that but did not provide a specific number.
"York Hospital is also experiencing similar issues with Anthem Insurance regarding timely reimbursement for services provided to our patients, in addition to the handling of our own employees’ health care claims," York Hospital President and CEO Dr. Patrick Taylor said in a statement.
"We are experiencing similar payment delays and have ongoing discussions with Anthem to resolve these issues," MaineGeneral's spokesperson said in an email.
"We continue to experience some delays with Anthem. The dedicated phone line they have in place now has been helpful for local Anthem plans, but we still have continued delays with out of state and Medicare Advantage claims. We meet monthly with Anthem to review outstanding issues," Suzanne Spruce, senior vice president of Northern Light Health, said in an email.
When asked, none of the hospital spokespeople said they were reconsidering contracts with Anthem.
According to Gov. Janet Mills ' office, Anthem is Maine's largest insurer, covering 300,000 people. State of Maine employees and tens of thousands of other public service employees have Anthem for their health insurance.
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