Dive Brief:
- Ohio's InHealth Mutual is set to cut the OhioHealth hospital system from its provider network on March 1, The Columbus Dispatch reports.
- As many as 9,000 patients enrolled in InHealth could be impacted by the split.
- The insurer notified its members just one to two days before the close of open enrollment, leaving little opportunity for members -- including many who had just enrolled -- to switch plans.
Dive Insight:
The move illustrates the need for InHealth to tighten its belt after the co-op was placed under enhanced federal oversight late last year when it said, "was trying to slow the rate at which it's burning through its cash reserves." As part of that effort, the co-op planned to offer hospitals and providers lower reimbursement rates.
The news also highlights the issue of alterations to provider networks when members are locked in and have little to no opportunity to switch plans, given that plan changes do not trigger special enrollment.
The short notice was "a significant concern to this organization," Dr. Bobbie Freeman, InHealth's chief administrative officer and chief medical officer, told the Dispatch. She said notification was given as quickly as possible following the Ohio Department of Insurance's review of the network change.