Some Cleveland Clinic patients in Ohio could lose in-network access to their doctors and facilities under certain Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans starting Jan. 1, 2027, if the two sides cannot reach a new contract. For now, nothing changes, and patients can keep their appointments and continue getting care as usual while negotiations continue.
As reported by WKYC, Cleveland Clinic and Anthem are in active talks over a new agreement, and both sides are hoping to avoid any disruption to care. On its own patient-facing insurance page, Cleveland Clinic states plainly that it has “been engaged in good-faith discussions with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield to reach a new contract agreement.” The health system says that if no deal is struck, its Ohio facilities and providers “will no longer be in-network for certain Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans starting Jan. 1, 2027.”
Who Would Be Affected
The plans at risk are specific: Cleveland Clinic says patients with Anthem employer-sponsored and Medicare Advantage plans in Ohio are the ones who could be affected. Certain out-of-state Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans that access care through the BlueCard program may also be affected if an agreement isn't reached, per the same source. Anthem Medicare Supplemental, Medicaid and MyCare plans are not part of these negotiations and would not be impacted either way.
Cleveland Clinic is also reassuring patients on two fronts that tend to cause the most alarm in these standoffs: emergency care and immediate scheduling. The health system says emergency care will not be affected by the negotiations no matter how they conclude, and that patients can keep all existing appointments and continue receiving care as usual for the time being.
A Familiar Pattern Nationally
Disputes like this one have become a routine feature of the health care landscape. According to research cited by NBC News, preliminary work by Brown University researcher Jason Buxbaum found that about one in five hospitals had at least one public dispute with an insurance company between June 2021 and May 2025, and roughly 8% of hospitals went out of network with the insurer they were negotiating with for at least some stretch of time. The outlet also cites an estimate that 500 to 600 such public disputes occur nationwide each year.
Money is a central driver. NBC News notes that total hospital expenses grew 5.1% in 2024, outpacing the overall inflation rate of 2.9%, according to the American Hospital Association. On the insurer side, Medicare Advantage plans have drawn particular friction: Becker's Hospital Review reports that contract breaks between major health systems and certain Medicare Advantage insurers continued into 2026, with providers often citing prior authorization denials and slow reimbursement as reasons for dropping coverage. Medicare Advantage now covers more than half of eligible Medicare beneficiaries, per the same report.
Other Health Systems Facing Similar Standoffs
Cleveland Clinic isn't alone in this kind of standoff, and outcomes elsewhere have varied. In New York, Mount Sinai's physicians went out of network for most Anthem plans while its hospitals and facilities stayed in network longer, a situation NBC News says affects roughly 200,000 Mount Sinai patients who carry Anthem coverage. In Texas, Memorial Hermann Health System and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas remained in talks over commercial plans while Memorial Hermann had already ended its Medicare Advantage relationship with the insurer.
Other Ohio systems have faced the same Anthem Medicare Advantage question. Becker's Hospital Review reports that Kettering Health dropped Humana and Devoted Health Medicare Advantage plans for 2026 and said it would go out of network with Anthem Medicare Advantage in 2027, while Sentara Health said it would go out of network with Anthem Medicare Advantage at the end of 2026 after failed negotiations. Not every standoff ends in a break, though: Florida Blue and Cleveland Clinic Florida reached a new multiyear contract in February that kept Florida Blue customers in-network, according to WUSF. Cleveland Clinic itself has a track record of reaching last-minute deals, having struck an agreement with Anthem in 2024 in a dispute where the Akron Beacon Journal reported roughly 9,000 people would have been affected had nearby Summa Health left Anthem's network.
For now, Cleveland Clinic patients with Anthem coverage have more than two months before any changes could take effect, and the health system says it will continue to update patients as the negotiations progress.
