COLUMBUS – City leaders and hospital officials are warning that thousands of Ohio children are in danger of losing insurance coverage for Nationwide Children’s Hospital provided by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s Medicaid plan.
Patients at Children’s are covered by six of the seven Medicaid insurance plans in Ohio, but negotiations with newcomer Anthem have not produced an agreement that would include Children’s as an in-network provider, according to Dr. Rustin Morse, chief medical officer at Children’s.
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther says, starting on May 1, thousands of families with Anthem Medicaid will not have coverage with Children’s and would have to travel elsewhere for care.
“Starting on May 1, residents enrolled in Anthem Medicaid will not have coverage with Nationwide Children’s Hospital, which means that 5,000 of our most vulnerable families will have to travel to another city to receive care for their children. I call on Anthem Medicaid to return to negotiations today. Lives of our children are literally at stake.” – Mayor Andrew Ginther
Current patients with Anthem coverage are encouraged to keep appointments with the hospital and its Close To Home Centers, Urgent Care Centers and Emergency Departments.
The hospital will work with Anthem to cover the cost, Morse said.
Those families insured by Anthem through their employer are not affected, Morse said.