The state treasurer and State Health Plan rejected complaints Friday from Blue Cross NC and United Healthcare, which lost their bid to run the plan.
Letters explaining the denial were sent to the victims by longtime Executive Director Sam Watts. This ends the protest process, and the government’s plan will move forward with its agreement with Aetna – which should take Jan. 1, 2025 – according to a statement released by Treasurer Dale Folwell.
Blue Cross NC, which has managed the state health plan for more than 40 years, filed an appeal Jan. 12 against the state’s decision to defund Aetna. In its complaint, Blue Cross NC wrote that the request for proposals (RFP) — the bidding process used to select a contractor — was significantly modified compared to previous bids. A day later, United Healthcare held its own protest.
The third-party administrator is responsible for all administrative tasks related to health insurance, such as setting up technical systems, negotiating prices with hospitals and other health providers and managing the bill to send to the government.
“Responses to the RFP are voluntary. Arguing that if the questions had been asked differently or edited differently, the results would have been different is not how procurement works,” Watts said in a statement.
At the beginning of last year, the RFP questions and procedures were explained to the bidders, the statement said, and the staff reviewed the responses according to the established standards. After scoring and evaluation, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to award the contract to Aetna.
Aetna’s North Carolina president, Jim Bostian, said in a statement shared with The N&O on Friday, “My only goal — along with the hundreds of North Carolina Aetna employees who are currently working through the transition — is to make the process seamless. . We will complete this task without a hitch.”
The plan will work with Aetna on “a seamless transition that includes proactive efforts to communicate with members when it is accomplished,” according to the plan’s statement.
The state plan controls health care costs of more than $17.5 billion over five years and affects 740,000 teachers, government employees, retirees and their dependents. Premiums, co-pays and deductibles, set by the government policy, do not change, according to the policy.
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Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi reports on North Carolina politics.
