Midnight deadline looms for Anthem, Mercy to reach Medicaid deal

After months of negotiations, there's still no progress ahead of the July 1 deadline for Mercy Health and Elevance Health - parent company of Anthem Ohio - to reach an agreement on managed Medicaid care plans.

The conflict boils down to reimbursement from the insurance provider more than nine months ago.
Anthem has only offered its managed Medicaid services in Ohio for about five months.

Mercy said in a statement a few weeks ago that "claims for payment through the insurance company have not kept pace with the rising cost of labor, supplies, and drugs."
The healthcare provider accused Anthem of taking its most recent offer off the table and walking away from talks.
Anthem bit back - saying Mercy is "terminating its contract to serve a vulnerable population to try to force higher costs."

The impasse would mean 50,000 Medicaid patients wouldn't be able to get care through Mercy.
That includes nearly 9,000 here in The Valley.

If you're one of them - here's what you can do:

Call Ohio's Medicaid office to learn about more options for staying with Mercy.
Call Anthem for options for care after July 1. They have to cover you with a qualifying condition whether Mercy is in network or not.
You can also follow negotiations on Mercy's website.