BayCare reaches new agreement with Florida Blue

After months of contract disputes, BayCare Health Systems and Florida Blue reached a new, multiyear network agreement, maintaining patient access just hours before the old one was set to expire.

The new agreement goes into effect Wednesday, Oct. 1 and covers all of BayCare’s 16 hospitals across Pinellas, Pasco, Polk and Hillsborough counties and includes its ambulatory network and BayCare Medical Group, the region’s largest multi-specialty physician group.

Florida Blue provides health insurance to more than 5 million Floridians, the company says. Most Florida Blue members will see no interruption in services, however, the new agreement does end primary care access for Medicare Advantage plan members. They will still be able to see specialty physicians within the BayCare network. 

Florida Blue Medicare Advantage patients wishing to retain their primary care physician were encouraged in a statement released Wednesday to review their options during Medicare’s 2026 open enrollment period, which begins Oct. 15. Every year, Medicare enrollees can choose between traditional Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan. Information on plans that cover BayCare physicians and providers can be found on BayCare.org. 

The new agreement comes after the negotiations led to an Aug. 18 email BayCare sent to roughly 200,000 patients with Florida Blue, warning that its contract with the health insurer could lapse Oct. 1. The email went on to say that Florida Blue, the state’s BlueCross BlueShield provider, was proposing reimbursement rates that failed to keep up with the rising costs of medical care. Florida Blue then replied with a statement of its own, posted to its website, saying BayCare was charging excessive rate increases for its West Central Florida market. 

“Negotiations can be challenging; especially as both parties advocate for those we serve. We are pleased to have an agreement with Florida Blue that will benefit our communities for years to come,” BayCare President and CEO Stephanie Conners says in the announcement. “We are committed to fulfilling our mission in improving the lives of all we serve and worked tirelessly to ensure patients have access to our extraordinary providers and services.”

The new agreement comes only a few years after the entities' last contract dispute in 2022. Negotiations became so tense that BayCare paused elective surgeries for Florida Blue patients until a three-year agreement was reached, just four days before in-network contracts were set to expire. 

BayCare handled nearly 1.3 million patient visits last year and saw operating revenues grow to $6.27 billion a year, up from $5.5 billion in 2023.

Just one day before Florida Blue reached an agreement with BayCare, Sarasota Memorial Health Care finalized its new contract with Cigna, one of the nation’s largest commercial health insurers. 

According to a 2024 study by the American Medical Association, the five largest commercial health insurers in the U.S. by market share were UnitedHealth with 15%, Elevance Health/Anthem with 12%, CVS/Aetna with 12%, Cigna with 11% and Blue Cross Blue Shield with 7%.