A state court ruled Monday that the State Health Plan acted “fairly” in granting the 2025 contract to administer its health plan to Aetna over Blue Cross NC. “The preponderance of the evidence showed that the Plan conducted the procurement carefully and thoughtfully, fairly and in good faith, and that its decisions were properly within its discretion. It also showed that the vendors’ proposals were evaluated and scored carefully, accurately, and fairly,” wrote Administrative Law Judge Melissa Owens Lassiter, who reviewed the complaint by Blue Cross NC. The decision puts an end to a yearlong legal battle — unless Blue Cross NC, which filed the case in the North Carolina Office of Administrative Hearings, takes further action. Blue Cross NC did not reply Monday to a question on whether it would appeal the decision, but said in a written statement through spokesperson Laura Eberhard that “while we are disappointed in the court’s ruling, we are gratified that the court reviewed the serious questions we raised about the State Health Plan’s 2022 RFP process.” In proposed rulings filed with Lassiter, Blue Cross requested she require the State Health Plan to either award the contract to Blue Cross or put it out for bid again. The State Health Plan asked Lassiter to affirm its decision to award the contract to Aetna. According to state law, the decision of the judge can be appealed by either party in the case to the state’s superior courts. Any decision there could also be appealed.
