Meridian Health Plan of Illinois, a subsidiary of Centene, has terminated its Medicaid contract with Chicago-based Northwestern Medicine, effective Dec. 31.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2025, patients with this health plan must select a new plan during open enrollment to continue receiving care at the 11-hospital system. Tens of thousands of patients will be affected by the change the Daily Herald reported Dec. 8.
"It's unfortunate because they're the ones that dropped Northwestern Medicine," Christopher King, a spokesperson for Northwestern, told the publication. "That was not an us decision. They alerted us, and we were kind of surprised and shocked they did that. And so those patients that were impacted, and it was significant, we're reaching out to them to get them transitioned to another plan within the Northwestern Medicine system."
The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services is working to ensure Medicaid patients continue accessing care after Northwestern's contract with Meridian ends Dec. 31. A special enrollment period will allow affected patients to select new plans, with HFS enforcing continuity of care requirements.
Northwestern also accepts Medicaid plans from Blue Cross Community Health and CountyCare, which is available for Cook County residents only, according to the report.
"We're doing everything we can for the continuum of care, because a lot of Meridian users are Medicaid patients as well," Mr. King told the Daily Herald. "We're trying to make sure their coverage isn’t dropped."
A spokesperson for Northwestern said the system was "surprised" by Meridian's decision to terminate the contract. The system reaching out to patients to inform them of Meridian's decision and with the hopes of transitioning them to a new plan.
Centene did not respond to Becker's request for comment.