Health insurer Anthem's dispute with Hartford HealthCare is over. The state's largest insurer, and one of its largest hospital groups announced on Saturday that they had come to terms, in the seven week-old contract dispute.
Tens of thousands of patients were left either paying higher out-of-network costs, or delaying appointments and procedures because of the impasse.
Both sides say the new three-year agreement they have reached will be retroactive to October 1 when the last contract expired.
State lawmakers had threatened to pass legislation forcing the two sides to go into mandatory arbitration over the dispute. They have scheduled a hearing for November 28, and some legislators have said they would like to see that hearing proceed, despite the resolution.
In a statement, Governor Dannel Malloy said the agreement gives consumers "the peace of mind that they deserve."
The effects of the dispute were widespread in Connecticut partly because of the hospital group's reach. Hartford HealthCare runs Hartford Hospital, Backus in Norwich, Windham Hospital, MidState Medical Center in Meriden, and the Hospital of Central Connecticut in New Britain.
