Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in New York and Memorial Sloan Kettering announced they have reached a new, multi-year agreement providing Anthem members with continued access to care at MSK hospital, outpatient care centers, and physician offices across New York and the surrounding area. With the new contract, members covered by Anthem employer-based health plans will have uninterrupted in-network access to MSK doctors and facilities. MSK will also remain in-network for Anthem’s Medicaid and Essential Plan health plan members. The press release was posted on the Anthem website:
www.anthem.com/msk
Here’s the backstory:
Memorial Sloan Kettering (and its hospital system) was negotiating a contract with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield regarding its medical health coverage for NYC employees. In the process, Memorial Sloan Kettering sent a letter to City employees and retirees. The City of New York and the Municipal Labor Committee were both disturbed that MSK would involve patients with their Anthem contract negotiations. Therefore, the City’s Office of Labor Relations (OLR) sent a letter to NYC employees and retirees regarding the actions of Memorial Sloan Kettering. The letter is posted on the DEA website along with an Anthem “Fact Sheet.” MSK will remain in Anthem’s network until at least March 1, 2025. Anthem Medicare members are not impacted by the current negotiations. Anthem remained confident an agreement would be reached that keeps MSK in their network for employer-based and Medicare Advantage health plans beyond March 1, 2025. It’s important to note that any member who begins receiving services prior to March 1, 2025, will be covered through their entire course of treatment. Also please note that Anthem’s care provider network includes other National Cancer Institute-designated Centers of Excellence in New York, including: NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center; Montefiore’s Einstein Cancer Center; Columbia University’s Herbert Irving Cancer Center; and Mt. Sinai’s Tisch Cancer Institute.
