UPDATE:Bloomington Hospital rejects IU employees' Anthem health insurance

Amid ongoing disputes between Bloomington Hospital and the Anthem/WellPoint insurance company, IU-Bloomington employees learned Wednesday they will not be insured at the hospital beginning Jan. 1. \nThe University informed employees in a letter, saying they will no longer be considered in-network patients at Bloomington Hospital. As out-of-network patients, employees will be forced to pay increased out-of-pocket costs. \nNegotiations between Anthem and the hospital have been ongoing since April but an agreement was never reached, according to a Bloomington Hospital news release issued Nov. 3.\nHowever, Dan Rives, IU associate vice president of administration and university human resources, said he was hopeful an agreement would be reached by the Dec. 31 deadline. If the two sides come to an agreement, he said, IU employees could retain their in-network status.\nAmanda Roach, communication coordinator for Bloomington Hospital, said the hospital was also optimistic an agreement could be reached. She would not say, however, whether officials on either side had considered that thousands of staff and faculty at IU, the state's largest employer, would lose coverage at the primary hospital in Bloomington. \nIn addition to all inpatient and outpatient services at Bloomington Hospital, the Bloomington Hospital of Orange County and the Southern Indiana Medical Group will also be affected, according to a Bloomington Hospital fact sheet.