Doctors, patients and hospital officials are urging the New Hampshire insurance commissioner to give all willing providers a chance to negotiate with the only company offering individual health insurance through the federal health care overhaul law.
Commissioner Roger Sevigny held a public hearing Monday at the request of Rochester's Frisbie Memorial Hospital, which is fighting its exclusion from Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield's narrow network. The hospital's attorney argued that the insurance company submitted an incomplete application to state regulators, who then approved it without the necessary scrutiny.
Anthem says its network meets state standards, and the insurance department says it followed the rules in approving it. But Sevigny said he will create a group to review the standards and recommend changes to the Legislature.
