State Health Plan Responds To Statement by Atrium Health

In response to the statement sent out by Atrium Health earlier today, the Department of State Treasurer and State Health Plan release the following:

Statement in Response to Atrium

Atrium Health's reaction is reminiscent of a World Cup team that loses and immediately blames the referee. Fans expect that from the heat of competition, but the match is still decided by the rules on the field.

Likewise, the State Health Plan (Plan) conducted a year-long process with clear intentions and expectations, followed by independent evaluation. Not every bidder can win, but you automatically put yourself in the (L) column if you don't ever enter a bid. In competition, whether on the soccer pitch or in public contracting, the integrity of the process matters more than the preferences of any single competitor.

Our team has always had one clear goal- and that's to keep the members of our Plan healthy and to keep their benefits affordable. We have found multiple partners who are willing to do that- and in fact, fought to win their contracts with our 750,000 members.

In response to the statement put out by Atrium leaders today- much like we responded to them when they emailed Treasurer Briner at 10:30 last night- we appreciate they have just realized the gravity of their lack of communication with us, but we have in fact tried to get them to be part of our team multiple times over the last year.

We have had several conversations with Atrium regarding the financial situation of the Plan and the direction we were headed. In those conversations clear expectations of what was needed to make things work was provided. While we understand there may be disagreements about the decisions that were ultimately made, it would not be accurate to say there has not been engagement.

Timeline of Plan Engagement with Atrium