BRUNSWICK
Parkview Adventist Medical Center is one of six Maine medical centers that could lose affiliation with certain Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance plans.
Officials at Central Maine Healthcare Inc., the Lewistonbased health care provider seeking to take over Parkview, issued a statement this week saying such a move “is tantamount to a new public policy supporting the creation of a health care monopoly in the southern region of Maine.”
The state Bureau of Insurance will take public comment today on the proposal, which CMHC officials said would force existing individual Anthem subscribers into new plans.
“If this is allowed, an even larger number of central, western and Mid-coast Maine residents will be compelled to change health care providers and hospitals,” officials at Central Maine Healthcare Inc. said in a news release.
The affected hospitals are Central Maine Medical Center, Bridgton Hospital, Rumford Hospital, Parkview, Mercy Hospital and York Hospital.
Hundreds of physicians affiliated with these hospitals would be affected by the new insurance plan, CMHC said.
The hearing will be held at 5 p.m. today in Kirk Hall at Central Maine Community College, Auburn.
“Like an earlier hearing held late on a Friday afternoon before the July 4th holiday, the timing of the hearing in the heart of the area most affected by the Maine- Health-Anthem could be interpreted as a tactic for minimizing public comment on the controversial plan,” CMHC said.
Central Maine Healthcare said it is taking the unusual step of inviting media outlets to the hearing because feedback received by the organization has indicated a very high level of public interest in this issue.
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