Article
Michigan: a termination notice
Michigan Medicine has notified Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan that it will leave the insurer’s network on July 1 for its southeast Michigan facilities and providers if no agreement is reached by the June 30 contract deadline. BCBSM says about 250,000 patients could see major coverage changes. About 48,000 patients with serious conditions, including cancer, transplants, pregnancy and diabetes, would keep in-network rates through Sept. 29.
Each side blames the other. BCBSM says the health system could have stayed in network past the deadline at higher rates than it receives today, and it is advising patients to look for new doctors. Michigan Medicine says it has shared multiple proposals since March 1 and has not seen the insurer move in a similar way. Both say they are still negotiating.
Illinois: a quieter resolution
In Illinois, Prime Healthcare said it reached an agreement to keep its eight hospitals in Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois’s network past June 1. Prime bought the hospitals from Ascension in 2025. The insurer had warned members they could lose in-network access, and Prime said those letters created unnecessary concern. The state nurses association welcomed the outcome but used it to press its own criticisms of the system.
What leaders can learn
- The public sees the dispute first. Insurer letters to members often frame the issue before the hospital speaks. Systems should have patient and clinician messaging ready before a notice goes out.
- Continuity-of-care terms matter. Transition protections for patients in active treatment reduce harm and limit reputational damage for both sides.
- Know your walk-away numbers. Boards should understand the volume and revenue at risk if the hospital leaves the network, and how long it can sustain that.
- Expect third parties to weigh in. Unions, legislators and employer groups may use a dispute to raise other issues.
- Price scrutiny is rising. With Congress questioning hospital prices, rate demands will be judged in public as well as at the table.
Archive entry for May 10, 2026, added Nov. 11, 2026.