News Story Detail

NorthBay Health and Partnership HealthPlan have reached agreement on new contract terms, ensuring no disruption in health care services for patients who currently use NorthBay Health primary care and hospital services.

NorthBay Health cares for 7,700 Partnership patients through its primary care services in Vacaville, Fairfield and Green Valley. Another 68,000 are assigned to NorthBay Health hospitals, in the event they need hospital services.

“It is important that we receive fair and equitable rates for the services we provide so that we can continue to take care of our community,” said B. Konard Jones, president and CEO of NorthBay Health.

NorthBay had been operating under the same contract with Partnership since 2016, and began attempts in 2021 to secure a new contract. After 18 months of informal efforts, NorthBay issued an intent to terminate on Nov. 30 if a more favorable deal could not be reached.

Partnership notified its patients in October that they might need to find a new provider if a deal was not struck by Dec. 1.

“That was unfortunate, because it caused distress and concern for patients, but such notification is required by the state,” explained Jones. “We are thankful that both sides worked hard to resolve the situation before the holidays.”

NorthBay reported in July that it was facing financial difficulty, like most other hospitals around the country, in the wake of the global pandemic, rising labor costs and a troubled economy. It embarked upon a $100 million budget recovery plan, which included workforce reductions and a reduction in services.

“Reaching a favorable contract with Partnership was one of our key initiatives to regain our financial stability,” explained Jones. “We still have work to do, but we’re significantly closer with this achievement.”