Campfire’s octopus, chorizo, and celery-root entrée.
Gage Forster
Four months after the contract between Scripps Health and Anthem Blue Cross lapsed, forcing an estimated 125,000 San Diego County residents to consider changing their coverage or finding different doctors, the medical provider announced Tuesday afternoon that the previous relationship has been restored.
Scripps notified patients by email that those with Anthem Blue Cross health insurance coverage can immediately resume making appointments with its approximately 3,000 affiliated doctors and using its network of hospitals and medical offices throughout the region.
In the fall of 2024, Scripps notified patients that the contract with Anthem might not be renewed, citing disagreement with the carrier over reimbursement rates and what the provider said were burdensome requirements for prior approval of billable medical procedures.
Richard Neale, a corporate executive vice president and Scripps’ chief growth officer, said Tuesday afternoon that the new agreement with Anthem simply extends the terms of the previous contract through Sept. 30, 2026.
Disagreements over reimbursement and prior medical approval remain unresolved.
“This is an extension, it is not a new agreement,” Neale said. “So, in a long-term sustainable agreement … those two priorities, which are really breaking down the barriers that interfere with the patient’s ability to get the care that their physician is recommending and to ensure that Scripps gets fair payment, those will be the focal points … that we will be focused on negotiating during the extension period.”
Little information was available on just how many of the more than 125,000 local Anthem beneficiaries stayed with the carrier, hoping for a quick resolution and how many decided to choose a different carrier during the annual open enrollment period, which usually occurs in the fall.
Anthem did not provide information on how many changed carriers or how many health management organization beneficiaries it switched to different local medical providers when Scripps went out of network on Jan. 1.
“We are pleased Scripps Health has rejoined our local network of care providers in San Diego and we look forward to continuing our partnership,” said Beth Andersen, president of Anthem Commercial Health Plans in California, in a statement. “Our members and employer customers remained our number one priority as we worked hard and in good faith to find common ground and reach agreement with Scripps.”
The news came as a relief to many patients Tuesday.
Ron Stolberg of Rancho Penasquitos said that he left Scripps for Sharp HealthCare while his wife tried to stay with Scripps as much as was possible, though some tests needed in the past four months went to Sharp.
“I think it’s great news for those of us that value our history with Scripps, but for many of us, we have gone on and made new relationships with health care providers in other systems,” Stolberg said. “If this was going to get worked out, it would have been great to do it before over 100,000 consumers stressed other health care systems.
“It’s hard to know what to do now, be faithful to a new provider who took us in, or the one we know better but dismissed us over a contract dispute.”
While he said he is on the fence, he said his wife plans to return to Scripps as soon as possible.
Why not extend the contract last year rather than waiting for four months? Neale said that an extension was not on the table.
“We had actually recommended or proposed to Anthem at that time to extend the terms of the existing agreement to negotiate that long-term agreement,” Neale said. “At that time, they turned us down.”
It does not appear that Scripps suffered much financially during the short-lived Anthem divorce. Revenue from third-party payors, for the most part commercial health insurance companies, actually increased slightly in the first three months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, according to quarterly financial reports filed with the state. Scripps confirmed the trend in an email Tuesday.
Neale said that patients with preferred provider or exclusive provider organization insurance, which allows beneficiaries to self-refer to any doctor in their network, immediately gain access, while those with health management organization coverage must go through Anthem.
“For EPO or PPO members, they can call (Scripps) today to get an appointment,” Neale said. “HMO members, they need to call Anthem to seek reassignment to a Scripps provider.”
The new contract does not include Anthem plans on the Covered California health insurance exchange. Neale declined to elaborate on why these plans will not regain Scripps in their provider networks. The executive did say that there were about 14,000 Scripps patients in Covered California Anthem plans at the end of 2024, though some may have switched health insurance companies during annual open enrollment in the fall and early winter of 2024 to retain access to Scripps.
Originally Published:
San Diego Padres (14-7) at Los Angeles Angels (11-11), April 19, 2026, 1:07 p.m. PST
Watch: Padres.TV
Location: Angel Stadium – Anaheim, Calif.
Listen: 97.3 The Fan
Please remember our Game Day thread guidelines.
Advertisement
Don’t troll in your comments; create conversation rather than destroying it
Remember Gaslamp Ball is basically a non-profanity site
Out of respect to broadcast partners who have paid to carry the game, no mentions of “alternative” (read: illegal) viewing methods are allowed in our threads
Sign up for a user account and get:
Comment on articles, community posts
Rec comments, community posts
New, improved notifications system!
SANDY, Utah — SANDY, Utah (AP) — Sergi Solans had two goals and an assist, Diego Luna added a goal and two assists, and Real Salt Lake beat San Diego FC 4-2 on Saturday night to extend its unbeaten streak to six games.
Morgan Guilavogui scored his first goal in MLS and had an assist for Real Salt Lake (5-1-1). The 28-year-old designated player has five goal contributions in his first six career games.
RSL hasn’t lost since a 1-0 defeat at Vancouver in the season opener.
San Diego (3-3-2) has lost three in a row and is winless in five straight.
Luna opened the scoring in the fifth minute when he re-directed a misplayed pass by Duran Ferree, San Diego’s 19-year-old goalkeeper, into the net.
Moments later, Solans headed home a perfectly-placed cross played by Luna from outside the right corner of the 18-yard box to the back post to make it 2-0. Solans, a 23-year-old forward, flicked a header from the center of the area inside the right post and past the outstretched arm of Ferree to make it 3-1 in the 37th minute.
Guilavogui slammed home a first-touch shot to give RSL a three-goal lead in the 45th.
Marcus Ingvartsen scored a goal in the 14th minute and Anders Dreyer converted from the penalty spot in the 66th for San Diego.
Ingvartsen has five goals and an assist this season and has 10 goal contributions (seven goals, three assists) in 16 career MLS appearances.
Rafael Cabral had three saves for RSL.
Ferree finished with five saves.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer
When John Resnick opened Campfire on a quaint little street in Carlsbad, Calif., in 2016, some locals weren’t sure what to think. The coastal enclave wasn’t exactly awash in innovative, chef-driven establishments, so it was a shock to see the dining room consistently full. Early on, one woman wondered aloud to Resnick, “Where did all these people come from?”
It’s a moment he remembers vividly. “I was struck by her statement, because I think she was surprised that so many other people in Carlsbad were there,” Resnick says.
The rest of the culinary world would take some time to catch up to what was happening. In 2019, when Michelin expanded to rate restaurants throughout all of California—not just the San Francisco area—Addison was the only one in San Diego to earn a star. But since emerging from the pandemic, the region’s food scene has grown dramatically. Driven by outstanding farms, ingredients, a bumper crop of talented chefs, and a G.D.P. approximately the size of New Zealand or Greece, San Diego County has become one of America’s most underrated dining destinations.
Campfire’s octopus, chorizo, and celery-root entrée.
Gage Forster
Perhaps no single restaurant is a better emblem for this shift than chef William Bradley’s Addison, which opened in 2006. After landing his first star, Bradley knew he wanted more. To get them, he transformed his French-leaning fare to serve what he calls California Gastronomy, which combines the cultures of SoCal with impeccable ingredients and wildly impressive techniques, prizing flavor over flair. Michelin responded, awarding Addison a second star in 2022, and making it the first Southern California three-star restaurant just a year later. The accolade has created a halo effect, attracting culinary tourists from around the world.
Berry beet tartlets at San Diego’s three-star stalwart Addison.
Eric Wolfinger
“Earning three stars forces the global dining community to pay attention to a place that may not have been on their radar before,” says chef Eric Bost, a partner in Resnick’s four Carlsbad establishments.
Resnick recruited Bost, who spent time at award-winning outposts of Restaurant Guy Savoy, to run Jeune et Jolie, which he led to a star in 2021. They’ve since taken over an old boogie-board factory down the street and converted it to an all-day restaurant and bakery, Wildland. The space also hosts an exquisite tasting-counter experience called Lilo, which was given a Michelin star mere months after opening in April 2025. And as Resnick and Bost grew their successful Carlsbad operation, chef Roberto Alcocer earned a Michelin star for his Mexican fine-dining spot Valle in nearby Oceanside.
The stylish tasting counter at Michelin one-star Lilo in Carlsbad.
Kimberly Motos
About 25 miles to the south, another affluent coastal community is going through its own culinary glow up. In La Jolla, chef Tara Monsod and the hospitality group Puffer Malarkey Collective opened the stylish French steakhouse Le Coq. Chef Erik Anderson, formerly of Michelin two-star Coi, is preparing to launch Roseacre. And last year, Per Se alums Elijah Arizmendi and Brian Hung left New York to open the elegant tasting-menu restaurant Lucien, lured by the ingredients they’d get to serve. “A major reason we chose San Diego is the quality and diversity of the produce,” Arizmendi explains. “San Diego County has more small farms than anywhere else in the U.S., and its many microclimates allow farmers to grow an incredible range of ingredients year-round.”
Wildland’s spicy Italian sandwich.
Gage Forster
Chef Travis Swikard has also been a tireless advocate for the region’s ingredients since he returned to San Diego, his hometown, and opened Mediterranean-influenced Callie in 2021. There’s no sophomore slump with his latest effort, the French Riviera–inspired Fleurette in La Jolla, where he’s serving his take on classics like leeks vinaigrette and his San Diego “Bouillabaisse” with local red sheepshead fish and spiny lobster. Its food is bright, produce-driven, and attentive in execution, while the dining room maintains a relaxed and unpretentious style of service. And Swikard sees that approach cohering into a regional style with a strong network of professionals behind it.
“It’s really nice that we are developing our own identity, not trying to be like L.A. or any other market, just highlighting what’s great about the San Diego lifestyle and ingredients,” he says. “Similar to New York, a chef community is starting to develop where chefs are supporting each other. There is a true sense of pride to be cooking here.”
Top: In La Jolla, Lucien serves ocean whitefish with tomatoes turned into concasse, sabayon, and other expressions.
‘We never forgot her’: Friends, family of longtime Alaska teacher gather for 100th birthday celebration
Trying to beat the heat: Addressing rising temperatures in Southern Arizona
Arkansas Lottery Cash 3, Cash 4 winning numbers for April 19, 2026
California couple charged with murder in death of toddler skip court
UPDATE: Northbound Powers reopned after major crash
CT Lottery Cash 5, Play3 winning numbers for April 19, 2026
Man speeds past leading runner in photo finish at Delaware Marathon
Florida Lottery Fantasy 5, Cash Pop results for April 19, 2026