The deal comes after the two organizations fought publicly over reimbursement fees nearly two decades ago, making Spectrum Health the only Michigan health system to lack a BCBS Medicare contract.
“Medicare Advantage will continue to be, and has been, increasingly a bigger part of the health care economic picture,” said Jeff Connolly, Blue Cross Blue Shield’s senior vice president. “Given our size and our breadth in the Medicare Advantage space, there is a reason we need to come together at a minimum to provide choice for those seniors in the Medicare space.”
West Michigan’s population of seniors 65 or older has increased 5 percentage points from the start of the decade, according to the article.
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