[Update] Within hours of the posting of this story, Cottage
hospitals and Anthem Blue Shield reached an agreement. See “Last-Minute
Deal Averts Hospital Crisis” for the full story.
[Original Story] Negotiators with Cottage Health have been playing a high-stakes game of chicken with insurance giant Anthem Blue Cross over terms of a new contract outlining reimbursement rates, which is set to expire New Year’s Day. Cottage negotiators walked away from the table shortly before Christmas by initiating a contract-termination notification with Anthem Blue Cross. That’s according to a statement issued by the California Medical Association. Barring a last-minute breakthrough, as of our Monday deadline, hundreds of Santa Barbara patients insured by Anthem could find themselves forced to seek hospital care in Ventura or Santa Maria.
Cottage Health owns and operates not just the Cottage facility in downtown Santa Barbara but the Goleta Valley Hospital and the Santa Ynez Valley Hospital as well. In the absence of a new contract, Cottage emergency rooms would still be required to accept all patients, but those presenting with non-emergency issues could find themselves paying considerably more for the care. Likewise, those with elective procedures scheduled might find their plans disrupted. The state medical association expressed concern that the impasse might require patients to travel considerably longer distances to get treatment, inconveniencing not just them but friends and family who might otherwise provide a support network. Likewise, it expressed concern that doctors treating these patients would be forced to scramble to secure privileges — and coverage — with other hospitals.