Indiana health system CEO: There's 'a lot of ground to make up' in Anthem deal

A contract disagreement between Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Parkview Health and Anthem is holding up negotiations as an April 29 deadline approaches, according to a column published in the News-Sentinel

Parkview CEO Mike Packnett characterized the talks as having "a lot of ground to make up. There's a wide gap today." The issue for both sides is reimbursement rates. Anthem argues Parkview's rates are much higher than similar providers in Indiana, while Parkview said the data used to back Anthem's argument are skewed.

Anthem spokesperson Tony Felts told News-Sentinel columnist Kevin Leininger: "The businesses and consumers we serve in northeast Indiana have expressed their concerns about increases in the cost of healthcare, and we take those concerns very seriously as we work to negotiate a fair contract that protects affordability."

Mr. Felts also cited a 2017 Rand Corp. study of hospital prices, which ranked Indiana among the states with the highest reimbursements rates relative to Medicare. The data show Parkview as charging almost four times what Medicare pays for services.

But Parkview's CEO and Greg Johnson, the health system's chief clinical integration officer, said the study doesn't consider quality of care and is skewed because Medicare rates aren't negotiated.

Read the full column here.

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