Anthem Forces Northeast Georgia Health System Out of Its Network

If you have Anthem healthcare coverage and your healthcare provider is one of the many physicians and clinics under the Northeast Georgia Health System you many have to change doctors.

Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS) announced Tuesday that, as of midnight on October 1, most NGHS facilities have been forced out of the Anthem network.

Their current contract between Anthem, formerly Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia, expired with no new agreement in place.

“Despite our determined efforts to protect in-network access for patients, Anthem continues to demand terms that would negatively impact the way patients receive care at NGHS,” said Steve McNeilly, vice-president of Managed Care. “We have offered Anthem a proposal that is fair to both parties, yet they refuse to work with us in a meaningful way.”

NGHS facilities currently out of network with Anthem are: all Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) hospitals; all Rehabilitation Institute, Imaging Center and Cancer Center locations;

Hospice of NGMC, New Horizons Limestone and Lanier Park; Sleep Disorders Center; Laurelwood; all Urgent Care locations;

All locations of The Heart Center of NGMC; and most Northeast Georgia Physicians Group (NGPG) locations, including Toccoa.

NGPG’s family medicine and internal medicine practices in Buford, Cumming, Dacula and Hamilton Mill are not affected by this negotiation and are still in-network.

Patients using Northeast Georgia Healthcare and have Anthem insurance are advised to call their healthcare provider for pricing information.

If you are covered by Anthem with your employer and are a Northeast Georgia Healthcare patient, you should speak with your employer about other options for in-network care at NGHS.

Additionally, find out whether other insurance options may be available during Open Enrollment to guarantee in-network access in the next plan year.

For information about costs for office visits, patients should contact their provider’s office, and for questions about out-of-pocket costs for a scheduled procedure or test, patients should call the NGMC Patient Access Office at 770-219-7678.

And for more information about the negotiation and answers to frequently asked questions, visit www.nghs.com/anthem or call the NGHS Patient Information Line at 770-691-3588.