Covenant Health and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Maine said Thursday they have reached a multi-year agreement to maintain in-network access to the system’s services, lowering costs for Anthem patients.

Covenant Health operates St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Lewiston and St. Joseph Healthcare in Bangor, plus affiliated practices and clinical services across Maine. The system began negotiating a contract with Anthem more than six months ago.

Karen Sullivan, spokesperson for Covenant Health, said the system is satisfied with the agreement in an email Thursday.

“Throughout our conversations, it was clear that both Covenant Health and Anthem Maine wanted to craft an agreement that would serve patients well and reimburse providers appropriately,” Sullivan said.

Jim Turner, spokesperson for Anthem, added that “it was important to us to address the affordability of care with the new contract, and we did that.”

Anthem is the largest private insurer in the state, covering about 300,000 people. Covenant Health had 377,000 patient visits in its network in 2021.

It hasn’t always been easy to come to terms. Before signing a two-year deal with Anthem in 2023, Covenant Health had threatened to pull its services out of network, which can result in higher out-of-pocket costs for patients.

Anthem and Northern Light Health, one of Maine’s largest health systems, also had months of tense contract negotiations late last year.

Medical billing problems are on the rise in Maine. More patients have high-deductible plans compared to decades ago, when most services were covered at a fraction of the cost.

About 40% of Maine’s hospitals are currently losing money, caused in part by low federal and state reimbursement rates and insurance claims being denied, according to Steven Michaud, president of the Maine Hospital Association.

Sullivan said the new agreement should “offer our patients reassurance that their providers and hospitals will continue to accept Anthem insurance.”