Anthem Contract Terminates, Forcing Sauk Prairie Healthcare Out-of-Network

A Message to Our Community

Anthem (renamed Elevance) chose to terminate our contract, forcing Sauk Prairie Healthcare to be out-of-network for about 2,700 area residents. (Note: Prairie Clinic continues to be in-network with Anthem.) Despite our sincere efforts to negotiate a fair contract, Anthem remained steadfast in their position which didn’t adequately consider the rising costs of supplies, medicine, and compensating our valued team members — all critical to providing high-value care for all our patients.

Our offer to Anthem was fair and reasonable, focused on keeping costs as low as possible to provide the level of care our patients deserve. We'll leave it to you to decide whether Anthem’s motivation is truly to help lower health care costs or rather to enrich its shareholders.

This outcome is not what we desired. Our commitment lies with you — our patients and community. For us, it’s personal. Unlike Anthem, we’re here with you, shopping in the same stores, sending our kids to the same schools, cheering for the same teams. And it pains us that we can’t be an in-network provider for you and your family.

Anthem glibly tells its enrollees to simply choose a new provider from their network. But we know the reality is much more disruptive to our patients’ lives. To us these are real people, not just insurance plan member numbers — from busy parents who can no longer use our Urgent Care for unexpected immediate needs to the young mom who must find a new pediatrician. Or think about the senior who’s been with the same doctor for decades and isn’t comfortable driving out of town. Then there’s the out-of-area patient who chose us for our outstanding reputation and now must cancel their surgery and related appointments, which means they also won’t be visiting local businesses.

It’s incredibly stressful for patients when their insurance plan’s in-network provider suddenly disappears midyear. The fact that Anthem terminated with us, doesn’t mean it’s okay for them to discontinue your in-network access to Sauk Prairie Healthcare before the end of your plan year.

Thank you for your trust and understanding during this challenging time. Please know we haven’t given up. We will work diligently to try to reach an agreement with Anthem in the future that gives you value and prioritizes your well-being.