There’s a new policy by healthcare insurance provider Anthem, currently rebranding as Elevance Health, that would actually penalize hospitals when out-of-network physicians provide care for patients.

Snuck out earlier this year, and due to take effect on January 1, 2026, the policy threatens administrative penalties of 10 percent and termination of network agreements if hospitals end up using out-of-network specialists. This is corporate-led healthcare at its worst, and easily rivals the insanity of European socialised, government-monopoly healthcare, albeit as the flip-side of the same anti-free-market coin.

Anthem claims this is about preventing abuse of the No Surprises Act, designed to stop patients from getting hit with unexpected medical bills. However, the truth is that it’s a blunt instrument designed to control doctors, intimidate hospitals, and limit patient choice.

Anthem’s new policy punishes hospitals and physicians for something that should be non-negotiable: discussing all appropriate clinical options with patients. When an insurer tells a hospital which specialists it may use and threatens retaliation for deviating from that list, patient care takes a back seat, once again, to corporate leverage.

It’s not a surprising statement to acknowledge that affordability remains one of the most significant concerns for Americans, and Anthem’s move pushes costs in the wrong direction.

Limiting networks doesn’t reduce healthcare spending in any meaningful way. It just concentrates power in the hands of insurers, forces hospitals into defensive staffing decisions, and drives independent physicians further toward burnout or consolidation. None of that lowers premiums for families, and none of it improves outcomes.

The timing behind this also matters.

While Anthem is strong-arming hospitals, Elevance Health is posting record financial results. In the third quarter of 2025 alone, the company reported more than $50 billion in revenue. That didn’t come from efficiency gains that benefited patients. It came from premiums paid by American families.

Across the country, people are being hit with staggering increases in their costs. Premiums rose by 34 percent in Colorado, 25 percent in Georgia, 24 percent in Kentucky, 33 percent in Wisconsin, and a jaw-dropping 48 percent in Arizona. This scale of increase presents real shocks to household budgets. Americans are paying more for insurance that covers fewer doctors and offers less flexibility at the point of care.

Hospitals, particularly in small towns and rural communities, are now caught in the middle of this dilemma. They face rising labor costs, lingering staffing shortages, and increasing regulatory demands. Now they are being told that if they bring in the wrong specialist at the wrong time, Anthem will take a cut or pull the plug entirely. That is coercion, not a partnership.

Independent doctors feel the squeeze just as acutely. Many want to be in-network. However, many cannot secure a fair contract, or any contract at all, because the negotiating table is tilted in favor of insurers. Anthem’s policy deepens that imbalance, while pretending the problem lies with providers rather than corporate consolidation.

The consequences will, of course, land squarely on patients. Families will pay higher premiums, face longer waits, and will be told certain specialists are unavailable, even when clinically appropriate.

This approach runs directly counter to the Trump administration’s stated goal of making life more affordable for American families.

President Donald J. Trump has emphasized lower costs, stronger families, and an America First approach to health policy. The MAHA agenda is founded on the principle that healthcare should prioritize the needs of patients and communities, not just shareholders.

What Anthem is doing reflects a broader cultural problem in corporate healthcare. Decisions are made in boardrooms far removed from emergency rooms, operating theaters, and rural clinics. The people who built this country, including nurses, doctors, and hospital staff who keep communities alive, are treated as line items. Small town hospitals are bled dry so Wall Street numbers can tick upward.

Anthem generated $50 billion in revenue last quarter. Then it turned around and penalized local hospitals for doing their jobs. The bill does not disappear. It lands on the kitchen tables of working families who are already paying more every month for insurance they increasingly cannot use.

The message is not complicated. Anthem’s profits are rising because your costs are. And unless policymakers, providers, and the public push back, this model will only spread. Patients will have fewer choices, doctors will have less autonomy, and families will continue to pay more for less.