Novant Health, Blue Cross NC agreement strengthens access to care

DURHAM, N.C. — Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC), the state's largest not-for-profit health insurer, and Novant Health, one of the largest nonprofit hospital systems in North Carolina and the Southeast, have signed a new, multi-year network agreement.

The three-year agreement will enable Blue Cross NC and Novant Health to continue collaboration to improve care and access for patients across North Carolina, especially in rural areas. The agreement will leverage Novant Health's diverse network of care settings and tailor services to patients' needs, ultimately making care more affordable.

This extension applies to Blue Cross NC members in commercial, Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medicare Advantage and Medicaid plans. Additionally, Blue Cross NC offers Blue Home with Novant Health, which is built on Novant's network of providers and anchors Blue Cross NC's ACA network in the greater Winston-Salem and Charlotte regions.

In addition to aligning the organizations' interests around providing plan members with access to the highest quality health care, Blue Cross NC and Novant Health will jointly focus on reducing costs by making care more accessible in outpatient settings where costs are lower for employers and patients. Through this agreement, Blue Cross NC and Novant Health will also augment their efforts to help plan members stay healthy.

Novant Health also participates in Blue Cross NC's Blue Premier program, which is helping make health care more affordable. Participating doctors and hospitals and Blue Cross NC are jointly accountable for meeting quality and cost measures.

This approach modernizes health care by rewarding quality of care, resulting in fewer unplanned hospital admissions and more preventative care. The program has helped Blue Cross NC curtail the impact of medical cost inflation in premiums and has generated more than $650 million in savings since 2019.

For more information, visit NovantHealth.org/HealthInsurance or bluecrossnc.com.