Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Michigan Medicine said Wednesday they have reached a new long-term contract agreement, keeping the university health system in network for hundreds of thousands of insurance members statewide. The deal averts a break that had threatened access to Michigan Medicine’s hospitals, clinics and doctors after weeks of public warnings and sharp talk over money.
Blue Cross had told members three weeks ago to start looking for new doctors as negotiations stalled, raising the stakes for patients who rely on Michigan Medicine for care. The insurer and the health system had publicly clashed over pay and reimbursements, with each side pressing its case as the June 30 contract renewal deadline approached.
Julie Ishak said the agreement means patients can keep getting care without disruption. “Our goal was to always to keep the patient at the center of all of those conversations, and I think that we’ve reached an agreement now that allows our patients to receive care,” she said. “I’m very excited that our patients won’t have any disruption in care moving forward.” Ishak added that, for patients, “nothing different” would follow the deal, saying they would still be able to see the same doctors and receive the same nursing care.
For Michigan Medicine patient and Blue Cross member Mike Wilson, the warning to find a new doctor made the dispute feel personal. “It was frustrating enough when you have an insurance company that will like deny a procedure or something like that. But then to go ahead and say, you better find a new doctor...it was educational for us,” he said. Wilson said his plan does not allow him to leave the state, so losing access to Michigan Medicine would have cut off a large share of the care he can use. “The plan that we have, we can’t leave the state for, and so you’re taking away a large percentage of medical care. And so,... it had to get resolved,” he said.
The fight was a familiar one in health care, according to James Hicks, who said clashes between insurers and hospitals happen often and usually come down to money. “What it becomes, to some extent, is a game of financial chicken, where both have an incentive in maintaining the relationship. I don’t think either of them necessarily wanted to see the relationship severed,” he said. Hicks said neither side can afford to go long without reimbursements, warning that a prolonged standoff can force hospitals to make hard staffing choices and then scramble to rebuild once a deal is done.
The agreement gives both sides room to move forward, but the final contract is not finished yet. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Michigan Medicine said they will keep meeting over the coming weeks to finalize details before the June 30 renewal deadline, and they said the contract terms will not be made public. Ishak said she is confident the deal will take effect, and the central question for patients has now been answered: their access to Michigan Medicine stays intact.
