{"id":6136,"date":"2026-07-16T10:35:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T10:35:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6136"},"modified":"2026-07-16T10:35:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T10:35:11","slug":"state-health-plan-members-with-wakemed-could-pay-more-after-board-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6136","title":{"rendered":"State Health Plan members with WakeMed could pay more after board decision"},"content":{"rendered":"
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RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) \u2014 Members of the North Carolina State Health Plan\u2019s administrators made a decision that impacted thousands of WakeMed patients in the Triangle on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

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The plan\u2019s administrators announced that Duke Health would be made an \u201caccess provider\u201d under the plan\u2019s new tiered system that is being implemented in 2027. With Duke being selected for the access tier, patients using Duke Health services will see the same or better services. This also means many WakeMed patients on the plan will have to pay more, as the state said those services will fall into the \u201cnon-preferred\u201d tier.<\/p>\n

\u201cWakeMed is an excellent facility, and we continue to value their services, such as their emergency department and their OB platform (which they currently partner with Duke Health on),\u201d NC State Health Plan Executive Administrator Tom Friedman said. \u201cBut given the savings to the Plan and the human impact, we believe Duke Health is the right access partner for the State Health Plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

WakeMed said the decision is damaging to both the facilities and the thousands of people who use them for care.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt will have serious financial consequences to WakeMed, as a not-for-profit, safety-net health care system, and for the community that has relied on us for more than 65 years,\u201d WakeMed said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Health plan changes<\/h2>\n

At the heart of the plan is a new multi-tier provider network, which is designed to lower out-of-pocket costs by steering members to its preferred providers.<\/p>\n

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