Carteret Health Care (CHC) and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) are pleased to announce that they have reached a new multi-year agreement. Mutual goals in this negotiation were to ensure that Carteret County citizens have high quality, affordable health services and resources available to them and their families today, and in the future.                                                    

“We are grateful for the support of our community, physicians and staff. Given the successful conclusion of the negotiations, ultimately, it is the patients that truly benefit and retain control of their health care choices,” said Dick Brvenik, president and CEO of CHC. “We look forward to continuing to provide Carteret County with the high quality, affordable health care they deserve and expect.”

The new agreement will be effective April 8, 2016. Out-of-network services received between February 1, 2016, and April 7, 2016, will not be impacted. The community is encouraged to call Carteret’s Insurance Help Line at 252-808-6614 for any insurance questions regarding in-network and out-of-network claims and any exceptions such as continuity of care and hardship situations.   

“Contract negotiations can be exhaustive and tense, but they are an important process to ensure that providers and insurers work together to keep health care as affordable as it can be for our customers. Thank you to the Carteret community for your patience while we worked to achieve this goal,” said BCBSNC Chief Operating Officer Alan Hughes.

The contract includes agreed-upon quality criteria that CHC will be measured against, and CHC currently meets the majority of the criteria. Going forward, CHC is confident it will produce superior results.

Carteret’s achievements and awards include receiving an “A” Hospital Safety Score by The Leapfrog Group, and were ranked as one of the Best Hospitals by Business North Carolina 2015.  

For now and in the future, CHC and BCBSNC remain firmly committed to making great care accessible and affordable by focusing on care coordination and value-based care that manages and reduces the total cost of care.