As this editorial was being written, CHI Franciscan – parent company of Harrison Medical Center – and Regence BlueShield were working on a new agreement that would restore Harrison Medical Center as an in-network provider for Kitsap residents covered by Regence BlueShield.

Feb. 15 was proposed as an effective date should an agreement be reached.

If it happens, it’s good news to those who have had to travel to hospitals for in-network care – such as St. Anthony in Gig Harbor or St. Joseph in Tacoma – or pay higher rates for non-emergency care at Harrison (emergency services are still billed in-network for any provider, according to CHI Franciscan spokesman Scott Thompson).

Harrison has been out-of-network with Regence since Aug. 22, 2014 when the two could not agree on reimbursement rates for care. At the time, Regence reported it offered a 15 percent increase in its reimbursement rate; Thompson reported that Regence offered “a decrease from our current level of reimbursement for our medical services.” They described each other’s offers as “fiscally unsustainable” and “would substantially raise costs.”

We know there are costs to providing health care, and we know that there has to be a return on investment. We depend on the insurance carrier and the local health care provider to make it work.

“We hopefully can work things out with Regence and get back in-network with them because that would be a benefit to everyone in Kitsap County,” Thompson said in December.

Indeed it will. We hope – and have confidence – that Regence and CHI Franciscan will reach agreement that benefits all.