The chief executive officer of Columbia-based MU Health Care testifies that MU Health Care and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield have not been able to find common ground during contract negotiations.
MU Health Care’s Ric Ransom testified Monday before the Missouri Senate Insurance and Banking Committee in Jefferson City. Committee chair Sandy Crawford (R-Buffalo) tells the audience that she hopes to see an agreement between the two sides:
“I mean our purpose here is to get these two entities together to make a decision to protect the 90,000 people that are not protected right now. That is our goal for this hearing,” Senator Crawford says.
Senator Crawford spoke at the start of Monday’s hearing in Jefferson City. MU Health Care’s 1,200 providers, 80 clinics and seven hospitals have been out of Anthem’s commercial network since April 1, when the two sides failed to reach an agreement to renew the contracts.
While the main focus of Monday’s Missouri Senate committee hearing in Jefferson City was on the contract dispute between Columbia-based MU Health Care and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, the cost of health care itself also came up. Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance director Angela Nelson testified about the cost of health insurance premiums:
“We looked at the median income in the state of Missouri in 2023, which is $68,920. So looking at our aggregate average statewide premiums in the individual market, Missourians are paying about 10.3 percent of their average income toward health premiums,” Director Nelson testifies.
There’s still no agreement between Columbia-based MU Health Care and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield. MU Health Care and Anthem criticized each other during Monday’s Senate committee hearing, and there’s no agreement in sight at this time.
UM Board of Curators chair Todd Graves issued a statement last week, saying he wants “to reaffirm the Board’s steadfast support for MU Health Care’s principled stance and willingness to stand up to Anthem.” An Anthem spokesperson has told 939 the Eagle that Anthem has offered annual rate increases above the Consumer Price Index (CPI), along with the opportunity to earn more through quality-based incentives. Anthem says MU Health Care has rejected those offers.
The committee heard about three hours of testimony on Monday afternoon.
