Chapel Hill-based University of North Carolina Health and Cigna have established a “long-term” agreement to maintain coverage, according to a Dec. 12 news release from the health system.
UNC Health and Cigna previously missed their Dec. 1 contracting deadline, prompting hospitals, clinics and providers to go out of network. The new agreement covers all commercial plan members and will be retroactive to that date, with UNC Health refunding patients who paid up-front.
“Cigna Healthcare is pleased to have reached a deal with UNC Health, allowing us to continue in-network coverage for the customers we jointly serve,” James Day, general manager for Cigna Healthcare Carolinas, said in the release. “Together, we will continue to provide affordable, quality care to North Carolinians.”
UNC Health Chief Clinical Officer Matt Ewend, MD, said in the release that patients will avoid “the stress of going out of network or seeking new providers for their care,” and the health system looks forward to collaborating with Cigna in the years to come.
Around the deadline, the health system informed roughly 65,000 Cigna members of the change, a spokesperson told Becker’s earlier in December.
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