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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe St. Francis hospital system threatened to terminate its contract with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Indiana on Nov. 2-well before the contract expires next September, saying Anthem has been slow at paying claims and has not granted St. Francis terms similar to other area hospitals.
If no deal is reached before Nov. 2, Anthem customers could no longer receive discounted prices at St. Francis facilities, although St. Francis said it would work to minimize the impact of such a scenario.
The contract affects St. Francis hospitals in Beech Grove, Indianapolis and Mooresville, as well as eight other hospitals in Indiana. All those facilities are owned by Mishawaka-based Sisters of St. Francis Health Services Inc.
Earlier this year, St. Francis resolved a contract dispute with the Sagamore Health Network, a managed care company in which St. Francis once had an ownership stake. Sagamore was sold in 2007 to Philadelphia-based Cigna Corp.
Anthem is the largest health insurer in Indiana, representing nearly 1.8 million patients.
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