JEFFERSON CITY — The ongoing contract dispute between Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield and MU Health Care is now on the radar of a Missouri Senate committee.
According to the Senate’s website, the Insurance and Banking Committee will hold a hearing on June 30 at 1 p.m. in the 3rd Floor Senate Lounge. The post says the hearing will have testimony from the insurance provider and MU Health Care.
It has been more than two and a half months since the health care provider and insurance company failed to reach an agreement before an April 1, 2025 deadline to keep Anthem within MU Health Care’s insurance network. More than 90,000 patients remained out of network.
In the weeks since. there have been few reports of progress being made in negotiations.
Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield officials insisted MU Health Care negotiators asked for a rate increase of 39% over the next 3 years. MU Health Care officials have said that is not true.
MU Health Care Chief Operating Officer Tonya Johnson said a 39% rate increase was their first offer. That rate would be 4 times the rate of inflation. Johnson said there was a new lower rate for Anthem on the bargaining table.
Senator Cindy O’Laughlin, who is in the GOP’s Senate leadership, and represents District 18, which includes Audrain and Randolph counties, wrote in a Facebook post last Friday she asked committee chair Senator Sandy Crawford to put the hearing together. She added she hopes the two sides can come to an agreement before that.