Contract negotiations between virtual primary and urgent care provider Carbon Health and health insurance giant Elevance Health have become public after Carbon published a blog post calling out the insurer for failing to “pay a living wage” for its services provided to members in California.
The virtual care provider said it has been in talks with Elevance, which operates in the state as Anthem Blue Cross of California, since January 2022 to “negotiate a livable wage and reduce the administrative burden” for the services its care teams provide members in the Golden State.
Pointing to labor shortages and increasing operating costs, Carbon wrote the rate the insurer had paid since 2013 was no longer feasible.
“Even a meaningful increase to our reimbursement rates would not have brought us anywhere close to what Anthem currently pays other urgent care and primary care providers in California,” the post read.
As of March 17th, the virtual care provider was no longer considered in-network, according to the post. Yet the company says that many insurers still utilize its service in the state, and as such the company attempted to recoup costs from Elevance as an out-of-network provider. Read more.
