RALEIGH, N.C. — Treasurer Brad Briner said Thursday that the State Health Plan plans to push most Atrium Health hospitals and physician offices outside its network starting in 2027, escalating a long fight over what care should cost.
The plan covers roughly three-quarters of a million public workers, retirees and dependents. Atrium is the state’s biggest hospital operator, with campuses from Charlotte to Winston-Salem, and it is chasing a merger with WakeMed in Raleigh that would thicken its Triangle footprint against UNC Health and Duke Health.
Briner’s team says the plan faces a gap measured in the hundreds of millions of dollars. To shrink it, the treasurer built a preferred-provider ladder that rewards systems offering deeper discounts — notably UNC Health and Novant — while raising member cost-sharing at higher-priced systems.
Atrium answered with a subsidy pitched to members who keep using its facilities. The treasurer sued to stop that approach, arguing only the plan may set copays and that the subsidy would leave the plan paying top rates while Atrium kept patients. A Wake County judge refused an early restraining order.
After that ruling, Briner said cutting Atrium from the network is the next move. He cast the dispute as back-office accounting for members if Atrium keeps covering the difference, but he said he will not let one system wreck the plan’s balance sheet and force premium spikes on teachers and other public employees.
Open enrollment for next year’s coverage was already stretched into early November so households have more time to compare choices. A treasurer notice said the Humana Medicare Advantage option is unaffected by the Atrium subsidy.
Members who rely on Atrium specialists will need to review 2027 directories carefully before the new network map takes effect.
Filed under: Asheville NC Health News