SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – It’s been 16 days after the deadline for negotiations between Scripps Health and Anthem Blue Cross passed. That resulted in tens of thousands of Scripps patients insured by Anthem becoming out of network.
“Definitely been a bit of a rollercoaster ride,” Regina Key, a Scripps Health patient insured by Anthem, said.
Scripps and Anthem failed to get a deal done before the start of the new year on Jan. 1.
People like Key are still in limbo, looking for new doctors, rescheduling appointments and more headaches related to all things medical after Scripps Health made them out of network.
But, Key said there was a bit of an interesting lifeline granted to her and her coworkers on Monday.
“Our employer opened up an emergency open enrollment, but there was also the caveat that they still might negotiate a deal. So, then we would just revert back to the original plan,” Key said.
We’re following through with Key about how her healthcare journey has been since the start of the new year.
“We did end up keeping an appointment with an orthopedic specialist. Just so I could get one of [my kid's] fractured fingers worked out. So we’re just kind of waiting to see what that out-of-pocket cost is going to be,” Key said.
She said the process of going back and forth and possibly yo-yo-ing between policies is a bit frustrating.
She tells me the new policy she could switch to would hike up her possible out-of-pocket costs by $1,000.
“We’re very lucky that they did end up switching policies so that we could keep out Scripps doctors — which I’m extremely grateful for — but, with the new carrier that they have, the cost did go up,” Key said.
The mom of two hopes a new deal can be made, so people can go back to the doctors and healthcare they know and want.
ABC 10News reached out to both Scripps and Anthem about Key’s situation that she told us about and where negotiations stand post-deadline.
Scripps said they won’t know if a patient has switched insurance until they see them. Then, they would get a good idea of patients leaving Anthem for another insurance provider. When it comes to price increases if a patient switches companies, Scripps told ABC 10News that would be best answered by insurance companies themselves.
As for the status of negotiations for a new deal between the healthcare provider and Anthem Blue Cross, Scripps said, “While Scripps continues to pursue a reasonable resolution, Scripps patients should contact their employer’s human resource departments to understand their health insurance options."
"We continue to work in good faith to negotiate a new agreement with Scripps," a spokesperson for Anthem said.
