Changes Ahead for Women's Health Center

The Women’s Health Center, a private obstetrics and gynecology practice that serves 5,000 patients a year, is joining Annadel Medical Group, a move doctors say will help the practice save money and stay solvent in years to come.

Since 2008, the practice, located across the street from Petaluma Valley Hospital, has steadily lost money due to low insurance reimbursements, despite the fact that most of its patients have private coverage.

Now by joining Annadel, which has 50 doctors, the practice expects to collect more from insurance companies while saving money on the day-to-day costs of running the practice.

“Our biggest problem is we can’t negotiate with insurance companies and as a result a lot of small, independent practices like us are being forced out of market,” said Dr. Anthony Kosinski, one of two doctors at the Women’s Health Center. 

"What happened to us is a microcosm of what’s happening nationally. In the end, insurance companies are making it impossible to have small practice and putting more and more of a burden on the patient,” Kosinski said.

Joining Annadel will also give the health center access to electronic medical records that can be shared between the OB/GYN and a patient's primary care doctor.

The Women’s Health Center offers general gynecology and obstetrics services, and is the only other provider of OB/GYN services in Petaluma besides Kaiser Permanente and the Petaluma Health Center.

It was started by Dr. Helen Spivak in 2008 and previously managed by the Petaluma Healthcare District.