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CODING
&
BILLING
Trinity Health sues anesthesia provider embroiled in
rate disputes with big payers — 4 details
By Angie Stewart
T
rinity Health is suing Anesthesia As-
sociates of Ann Arbor (Mich.) — its
exclusive anesthesia provider — in
Michigan federal court.
Four things to know:
1. Anesthesia Associates of Ann Arbor,
also known as A4, anchors the anesthesia
platform of Siromed Physician Services, a
South Florida platform company also named
as a defendant in the lawsuit. A4 provides
anesthesia services at six Trinity hospitals.
2. Trinity alleges it could lose patients
and incur significant administrative
expenses because of rate disputes between
A4 and several insurers. The Livonia,
Mich.-based health system also claims the
rate disputes could hike patients' out-of-
pocket costs.
3. A4 and Siromed "are using non-compete
clauses to interfere with the ability of their
more than 100 anesthesiologists to continue to
treat patients at the hospitals they serve" and
to prevent Trinity from defending itself against
agreement breaches, the lawsuit claims.
4. A4 has terminated its contracts with
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and
Priority Health, and sent termination
notices to Aetna and its affiliate Cofinity.
A4 breached its agreements with Trin-
ity — "which require that A4 remain in
network with these payers so that [Trinity]
patients are fully covered … when they
obtain services" — by taking those actions,
Trinity said.
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Trinity alleges it could lose patients and incur
significant administrative expenses because
of rate disputes.
