Insurance war settled

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island customers can breath a sigh of relief. The insurance carrier has reached a deal with Care New England Health System.

That means that hospitals such as Kent, Women & Infants' and Butler Hospitals will remain in the BCBSRI network until 2013.

If the the two health care giants didn't reach a deal by Jan. 1, 2009, there were fears that Blue Cross patients would have lost coverage at Care New England hospitals.

The two sides had been battling over a contract for months. Care New England hospitals wanted a better reimbursement rate from Blue Cross Blue Shield. With more than 600 thousand members, Blue Cross Blue Shield is the largest health insurance provider in the state.

Neither side is disclosing the terms of the five-year deal.

"These are challenging times for all parties concerned," said BCBSRI President and CEO James E. Purcell. "That being said, we are very pleased that we have reached this new agreement. It's an agreement that will mutually benefit BCBSRI and the CNE system for the long term."

“BCBSRI has vigorously represented its ratepayers in these negotiations,” added CNE President and CEO John J. Hynes. “Yet, BCBSRI has also acknowledged the needs of our hospitals. This new agreement represents a balanced result, which will benefit the healthcare system of Rhode Island.”