It's official: Mission Health, Blue Cross Blue Shield NC strike new deal

ASHEVILLE — Mission Health and Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina have agreed to terms of a contract, ending a nearly six-month-long dispute after the hospital system canceled a previous deal over concerns of rising health care costs.

In a joint statement Tuesday, the hospital system and the insurer said they've entered into a new agreement for Mission to rejoin Blue Cross' networks. Mission left the network after ending its previous agreement with Blue Cross NC in October.

The new deal is effective as of Dec. 15, meaning about 260,000 people in Western North Carolina who are insured with Blue Cross again will be able to pay in-network rates to receive care at Mission facilities.

"Both parties are pleased to reach agreement on the mutual goal of ensuring that the people of Western North Carolina receive the affordable, quality health care that they need," Blue Cross and Mission said in an emailed statement.

Blue Cross NC President and CEO Patrick Conway added that the insurer is "firmly committed to ensuring that our customers have access to high-quality, more affordable health care."

"We are glad that Mission Health has partnered with us to achieve this goal."

The two sides have been under negotiation since Mission's contract termination on Oct. 5.

Services with in-network rates will resume at the start of the new deal next week.

Details of the deal were not made public Tuesday. Officials from Mission and Blue Cross NC said those details are confidential and neither side will be sharing additional information.

Asked about the length of the deal or the likelihood for a similar dispute to occur in the future, both Mission and Blue Cross NC declined to comment. In a FAQ section on its website, Blue Cross addressed the question, saying it is "unusual" for a hospital to terminate a contract because it signals the end of negotiations.

"While we cannot promise that a situation like this will not happen again, we can promise that we will continue to fight to make health care more affordable for our customers."

Mission notified Blue Cross NC on July 5 it planned to terminate its contract, saying negotiations over a new deal with Blue Cross had not yielded acceptable terms. The health care system expressed concerns that it would not be able to care for people at Blue Cross' rates indefinitely. It cited the rising costs of labor, equipment and medications, for example.

Blue Cross argued Mission should accept a proposed offer that includes no increase in reimbursement for the first year of a contract that likely would run two or three years.

However, Blue Cross refused to negotiate with Mission unless it rescinded its termination notice, saying any negotiation process could lead to confusion for area residents if a deal were not to be reached. Mission declined to do so.

The deal expired Oct. 5.

A Blue Cross spokesperson told Blue Ridge Public Radio last month the two sides had entered into discussions regarding "a future network participation agreement," but declined any further public comment on the negotiations.