Becker’s: Northern Light Health CEO calls out Anthem for ‘campaign of misinformation’

Brewer, Maine-based Northern Light Health President and CEO Timothy Dentry voiced frustration with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in a Sept. 26 letter as the contract end date between the two organizations looms.

“It is disappointing and deeply concerning to see your organization continue to misrepresent the current status of our mediation,” he wrote in the letter, which was shared with Becker’s. “At no point have we indicated that we are walking away from the mediation.”

Mr. Dentry specifically called out Anthem for rejecting its own continuity of care forms Northern Light Health distributed to patients. The health system said it has “been forced to dedicate an entire administrative team just to manage the complexity.”

Anthem’s Meta ads were another pain point. Mr. Dentry said one ad falsely claimed Northern Light Health was requesting a “30% rate increase.” The statement contributed to a “campaign of misinformation,” he said.

“These actions contradict your public claims of supporting rural and community healthcare and lead us to believe that you would prefer to see our system receive the lowest possible reimbursement, even if that means jeopardizing access to care for rural patients,” he wrote. “These tactics do not demonstrate partnership or concern for community health. They are harmful, short-sighted and place vulnerable patients at an even greater risk.”

The insurer outlined its concerns and next steps to Becker’s.

“Anthem remains committed to keeping our members’ and employer-customers’ healthcare costs as affordable as possible. Our latest offer to Northern Light Health would pay them fairly, in line with what we pay other healthcare systems in Maine. Also, we cannot agree to additional Northern Light demands, such as their insistence that we discontinue industry-standard claims audits. We use these audits to protect our customers from paying more than they should for their care. Although we take issue with many portions of Mr. Dentry’s letter, we view Northern Light’s interest in returning to the table as a positive step overall. We are eager to sit down with Northern Light Health’s team next week to resume the process of reaching a new contract,” Anthem said.

This article was originally published on Becker’s.