Anthem Inc. has notified Parkview Health, that unless a new deal is reached by April 29, that they will end coverage for services at Parkview – according to the News Sentinel.
The negotiations came about as a result of Anthem advocating for and working to lower costs for those using the Parkview Health system.
Purdue University noted that a study by the RAND corporation study of claim in Indiana from Mid-2013 to Mid-2016 found that:
The overall average price for inpatient hospital care in Indiana is 2.17 times what Medicare would have paid for the same services. The most recent study using national data on payments for inpatient hospital care found the average price paid by private health plans was 1.75 times the Medicare payment rate.
* The price paid for hospital outpatient care in Indiana is 3.58 times what Medicare would have paid for the same services.
* The relative price of hospital care in Indiana rose sharply over the three-year study period.
* Parkview Health charged private insurance companies about four times what the federal Medicare program paid for the same care.
The Purdue study also found that Parkview Health is the second highest in the state in terms of relative price rank. Compared to what Medicare would pay for similar services, Parkview Health’s relative pricing for inpatient and outpatient services is 395%.
A January report from Moodys Investor Services noted that if the negotiation with Anthem fails, it will have a very negative impact on Parkview’s financials. As a result, Moodys revised its outlook on 670-million dollars of Parkview’s debt from stable to negative.
Parkview officials declined a request to the News-Sentinel for an interview, but said in a statement that “According to Moody’s 2019 not-for-profit Healthcare Median Report, Parkview’s financial performance remains in the top 18 percent of Moody’s-rated health systems nationwide.”
The revision on Parkview’s debt, the hospital stated, reflected the “additional debt required to grow Parkview’s services in response to the community’s needs, as well as the changing dynamics of health care. We are committed to working in good faith with Anthem in what we expect will be a successful outcome for all parties.”
