According to a report published in the Santa Barbara Independent, Cottage Health reached a last-minute agreement with Anthem Blue Cross. This means Cottage Health’s Santa Barbara area hospitals will remain part of Anthem’s provider network for 2020. The two sides had been negotiating since August.

The California Medical Association (CMA) was very concerned that had the termination become effective, Anthem patients would have been forced to travel long distances to receive services at in-network facilities. CMA had asked the Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) to closely monitor the situation to ensure that Anthem was meeting geographic access standards.