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
State Health Plan met with all hospital systems in August and September 2025 to discuss the direction the Plan needed to head in and to discuss a partnership with Lantern.
Tom Friedman, Plan’s Executive Administrator visited in person in November 2025
Lantern health system contracts were awarded March 2026.
The State Health Plan Board of Trustees approved the 2027 tiered network strategy and plan design structure in March 2026.
In May and June of 2026, Treasurer Briner had conversations with Atriums CEO and CFO in which no offer to come on as a partner was made.
At the June 2026 State Health Plan Board of Trustees meeting it was publicly announced that we were still open for partners willing to work with us. Atrium did not respond. Duke did and within less than a month we made them an Access Provider for 2027 because they put our members ahead of profit margins.
We remain committed to continuing the dialogue, and in fact, immediately set up a meeting with them after receiving their email. But still, rather than working toward finding some common ground, they decided to release a misleading public statement.
We are so proud to partner with all 4,500 of our preferred providers. They have committed to reducing costs for our Plan members and for the taxpayers of North Carolina, and are focused on winning the trust of our members rather than arguing with the refs.
