Cabarrus County teachers and state employees can keep seeing their Atrium Health doctors next year. The hospital system and the N.C. State Health Plan struck a deal ending months of public conflict over pricing, restoring in-network access for 2027.

N.C. Treasurer Brad Briner announced the agreement Tuesday, Oct. 27, at a meeting of the State Health Plan Board of Trustees, WUNC reported. Under the multi-year deal, all Atrium doctors and facilities will rejoin the plan's middle "Access Tier" starting in 2027. That effectively holds prices flat for plan members.

"Against a backdrop in healthcare that goes up 10 or 15 percent each year, holding flat is very good value," Briner said, according to WUNC.

The agreement resolves a standoff that had been especially difficult in the Charlotte region, where Atrium is the dominant provider, North Carolina Health News reported. The dispute left local state workers unsure whether they could afford to continue seeing their doctors.

What changed

The State Health Plan introduced a three-tier provider network in July. Atrium was initially placed in the most expensive "non-preferred" tier after a yearlong bidding process, North Carolina Health News reported.

A partial deal on Sept. 14 moved some rural Atrium hospitals and children's hospitals into the Access Tier. Most Atrium doctors and facilities stayed in the non-preferred tier.

Atrium then announced an "affordability protection program" on Oct. 6 to reduce out-of-pocket costs for state employees. Briner said the program would undermine the plan's cost-saving efforts because the plan would still pay Atrium's higher rates. He went to court Oct. 9 to block it. A judge denied the request Oct. 13.

On Oct. 14, Briner moved most Atrium providers entirely out of network. Within days, Atrium returned to the table with discounts that were "materially better" than earlier offers, according to State Health Plan Executive Administrator Thomas Friedman, as reported by North Carolina Health News.

Terms of the deal

Under the new agreement, the State Health Plan will pay lower rates for services at Atrium facilities than it had previously, according to a joint press release cited by WUNC. In return, all Atrium hospitals and doctors move back in-network.

Atrium will stop offering its affordability program. The State Health Plan will withdraw its lawsuit.

Steve Smoot, president of Atrium parent company Advocate Health's North Carolina and Georgia division, said in the joint release that the deal ensures teachers and state employees can continue seeing their Atrium caregivers.

Briner noted that members could still save by choosing providers in the plan's preferred tier, which includes Novant Health, UNC Health, Iredell Health and 4,500 independent providers.

Local voices during the dispute

During the weeks of uncertainty, Cabarrus County Schools Superintendent John Kopicki was among nearly a dozen education and government leaders quoted in Atrium's Oct. 6 affordability program announcement, according to EducationNC. Rowan-Cabarrus Community College President Carol Spalding also appeared on that list.

The American Federation of Professional Educators in North Carolina sent a letter to Briner and Advocate Health CEO Gene Woods calling the uncertainty "unacceptable" and urging both sides back to the table, North Carolina Health News reported.

What's next

Open enrollment for State Health Plan members ends Nov. 6. Friedman said he expects an updated financial projection from the deal in four to six weeks.