Sutter Health and Anthem Blue Cross reach agreement

“Sutter Health is pleased to have reached a new agreement with Anthem, one that continues to ensure patients’ access to the doctors, nurses and clinicians they trust and the care they depend on,” Sutter Health CEO Warner Thomas said in a press release. “We appreciate that Anthem sees the value in our commitment to improving access and broadening services while maintaining our relentless focus on quality.”

According to an earlier statement, Anthem had notified the 16,000 Northern California patients with health care maintenance organization plans that they will be reassigned to non-Sutter doctors as of the new year. Patients with Medi-Cal, exclusive provider organization and preferred provider organization plans would have had to seek other care by June 2025, unless they met certain medical criteria.

Sutter Health services tens of thousands of patients throughout Northern California, and there are more than 10 Sutter Health centers in San Mateo County, including Mills Health Center and San Mateo Care Center.

The new agreement is effective as of Jan. 1 and provides Anthem members with continued in-network access to Sutter’s network, according to a recent press release. However, some HMO patients may have already been reassigned to other doctors, which would necessitate a patient-initiated request to return to a Sutter provider, according to the Sutter Health website.

“Our new agreement provides stability and certainty for our members and customers throughout the state and allows us to deepen our collaborative efforts with Sutter to improve health outcomes and provide access to high-quality, affordable care,” Beth Andersen, president Anthem Blue Cross Commercial Plans, said.