Aetna is scheduled to take over as the third-party administrator for North Carolina’s State Health Plan — which includes health insurance for educators — in January 2025.
Aetna — which is based in Hartford, Connecticut — is owned by CVS. On Wednesday, CVS cut its earning projections, according to this press release. That’s the third downward revision in 2024, according to the AP.
In the same earnings report, CVS announced that Brian Kane, the president of Aetna, would be “leaving the company.”
“Based on the current performance and outlook for the Health Care Benefits segment, the Company has decided to make leadership changes effective immediately,” says the CVS press release.
Kane was president for less than a year.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC) has held the contract for more than 30 years.
In July, President and CEO of Blue Cross NC Tunde Sotunde, wrote this letter to state employees:
In January 2025, for the first time in more than 30 years, North Carolina’s state employees won’t receive their health insurance benefits through Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC). That’s disappointing for Blue Cross NC, for state employees and their families, and for North Carolina.
A mutual sense of purpose has driven the success of our decades-long support for state employees. As the largest North Carolina-based, not-for-profit, mission-driven, fully taxed health insurer, we, too, are guided by the vision of a better, healthier tomorrow for the state we all call home.
Our Extra Miles Tour gave me many opportunities to reflect on the significance of our longstanding relationship. The tour took us to all 100 counties in the state, and in every one we visited, state employees were front and center among those “going the extra mile” for their communities and for our state.
I didn’t need to be reminded of how much we all depend on their skills, insight, and dedication. But it was a remarkable experience to survey the vast scale of their work – unfolding in small towns and bigger cities, from the mountains to the coast.
Both directly and indirectly, North Carolina’s state employees and Blue Cross NC are partners, joined not by a contract, but by our commitment to North Carolina. They have always been essential to our purpose-driven work to improve the health and well-being of our customers and communities.
We have nearly 5,000 employees across North Carolina who have always felt honored to give back to those who have dedicated their professional lives to serving our state. That will not change, and our continued service on behalf of state employees will build on and strengthen this long legacy.
Our state employee members will continue to enjoy our full support and highest level of service through the remainder of our formal contract. After that, the bonds that join us might be a little less formal than before, but they’ll still be there, and they’ll continue to enhance the work we both do on behalf of our communities. That’s not just our responsibility to the employees whose health and well-being depend on the quality of service we deliver – it’s our responsibility to taxpayers, to our members, and to our neighbors.
Together, we won’t stop until health care is better for all.
Sotunde has been president of Blue Cross NC for four years since June 2020.
State Treasurer Dale Folwell oversees the State Health Plan, and his term ends at the end of the year.
An EdExplainer for educators is forthcoming, and EdNC will be reporting on the state health plan transition and the impact on educators.
Editor’s Note: EdNC coordinated the Extra Miles Tour, and Blue Cross NC has supported the work of EdNC.
