Mission gets cross.

• Author: Mildenberg, David
• Position: STATEWIDE: West

Mission Health System and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina are fighting a historic battle. Mission, with a 90% market share of hospital admissions in Buncombe County, won't accept Blue Cross insurance after Oct. 4. With the insurer covering about 4 million state residents, that's like Starbucks telling customers to shift to Folgers. Left unresolved, many of Mission's Blue Cross customers would have to drive to Hendersonville to receive in-network prices.

Blue Cross' demands include payment rate reductions coupled with unrealistic "pay for performance incentives," Mission Chief Financial Officer Charles Ayscue says. The system, which had revenue of $1.5 billion last year, is cutting $240 million in costs from 201418. Mission's pricing for births, CT scans and other procedures are among the state's highest, Blue Cross...