Duke and Aetna have a new contract, relieving pressure on state employees to find new doctors

Tens of thousands of state employees and teachers in North Carolina who have health insurance through the state and are patients of Duke doctors no longer face the prospect of finding new health care providers.

Duke Health and Aetna have reached a deal after months of tense negotiations. Aetna is the State Health Plan’s third-party administrator. 

Duke Health posted on its negotiations web page that a new contract has been finalized, so Duke remains in-network for people with Aetna health insurance. 

Just last week, as the Oct. 20 deadline for the expiration of the current contract drew near, the State Health Plan Board of Trustees endorsed a contingency plan to help Duke patients find new doctors. 

State Treasurer Brad Briner’s office oversees the health plan. 

Briner and trustee Dr. Brian Miller talked openly at the meeting last week about their dissatisfaction with Duke Health. To close a budget deficit in the plan, the trustees raised health plan premiums this year and plan administrators asked providers to hold down costs. 

With the new deal sealed, Briner struck a conciliatory tone in a statement Friday.

“We appreciate the steps Duke has taken to keep costs down for the Plan,” Briner’s statement said. “We have worked hard to dig ourselves out of a massive deficit and needed the help from all providers in the state to get that done. This deal represents Duke’s commitment to serve North Carolina and our members.”