I want to make sure you have and know where to find the latest information regarding a developing situation between UC Health and health insurer Anthem Blue Cross. Right now, nothing is changing. But that may be different by the end of the year.
As you may have heard, Anthem has been sending letters to thousands of physicians around the state informing them that Anthem is terminating their contract with UC Health as of Dec. 31, 2023. UC is in talks for a new contract with Anthem to pay for services for Anthem members, but Anthem has taken the unusual step of telling physicians an agreement won’t be reached and they should start planning now.
So, we are taking Anthem at their word. And, we believe UC patients also need to know about this potential disruption to payments for their care at UC. This week, each of the UC Health campuses began mailing and emailing patients with Anthem insurance (including Anthem Blue Cross) to inform them there is a potential for disruption of payments for their care starting Jan. 1, 2024. These letters and emails will continue to go out to patients over the next few months.
We are communicating news about this now, so patients have the opportunity to do something about this if they can. Patients can avoid this situation by choosing another health plan during their fall Open Enrollment season. For CalPERS members (state of California employees and retirees), the Open Enrollment season starts this week.
While Anthem is approaching this bargaining in an aggressive and unprecedented way, UC will continue negotiating for single-digit cost increases to allow us to continue paying our health care teams and remaining financially sustainable.
We’ve launched a web page for patients and members of the community to help answer their questions and provide more information. It’s at ucdavis.health/anthem. And, a list of health insurance plans accepted by UC Davis Health in 2024 is available online here.
Access unchanged for now
For now, access to UC Davis Health for all Anthem Blue Cross patients remains unchanged. And for UC employees, it should continue to be unchanged.
Anthem has said most UC employees and students will not be impacted. For some reason, Anthem is exempting UC beneficiaries, saying potential disruptions are not expected to impact patients with the UC Care, UC Health Savings, and UC CORE plans that Anthem is currently paid by UC to manage.
UC continues to meet and negotiate with Anthem, and we all hope a new contract can be reached before Dec. 31. UC’s health professionals and academic health centers provide exceptional care to millions of people in California. Without in-network access to our services, Anthem patients will struggle to get the quality care they need, when and where they need it. Anthem knows this, and they know their members won’t stand for it, but for some reason, the health plan has chosen to play a game of brinksmanship with this contract and put patients in the middle.
At some point, there will be a resolution. But we don’t know when that will be, so we need to remain steady, be proactive, and inform patients now in case they want to make changes and minimize their potential for disruption. We’re taking all the necessary steps to ensure team members and patient families know the facts and know what options are available.
Yours in health,
Steve Telliano, M.A. Asst. Vice Chancellor, Public Affairs UC Davis Health
