Contact

Duke Health News

919-660-1306

Durham, N.C. -- Dr. Jack W. Walker, Executive Administrator
of the NC Teachers' and State
Employees' Comprehensive Major Medical Plan (SEHP), and
Kenneth Morris, vice president and chief financial officer of
the Duke University Health System (DUHS), announced today that
they have reached an agreement on in-patient psychiatric,
chemical dependency and rehabilitative services, and therefore,
have rescinded the contract termination, originally scheduled
for April 30, 2003.

The two groups said good faith negotiations led to the
resolution of the issues at hand, and provides assurance to
SEHP members that the three DUHS hospitals, including Duke
University Hospital, Durham Regional Hospital, and Raleigh
Community Hospital, will continue to be considered in-network
providers throughout the duration of the current contract.

"We are very pleased that we have reached a mutually
beneficial agreement," said Walker. "We are aware of the high
quality health care services that DUHS provides our nearly
600,000 state employees, teachers, and retirees. Additionally,
this agreement assures that the 92,000 children in our NC
Health Choice for Children Program will continue to have access
to these high quality services. We appreciate the willingness
of Duke University Health System to work with the SEHP to avoid
any disruption of services to our members."

According to Morris, both DUHS and SEHP recognize the
struggles facing employers and health care providers during
this time of economic distress and will continue to work
collaboratively to ensure that the relationship remains
mutually beneficial and that state employees have continued
access to DUHS services.

SEHP pursued the contract amendment covering non-DRG
inpatient services as a cost-containment measure. In total,
this measure will save more than $2.1 million for SEHP and its
members statewide.