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GREENSBORO — Moses Cone Health System and insurer Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, locked in a dispute since July over reimbursement rates, haven't agreed on a new contract but are negotiating one.

According to a joint statement issued this morning by both the hospital and the insurer, negotiations are continuing toward reaching a "reasonable contract."

Blue Cross has said it would not negotiate with Cone while any cancellation notice was in effect. In July, Cone cancelled its contract with Blue Cross, effective Nov. 1, because it said it had no other leverage to get the insurer to negotiate. Today's statement means the current contract no longer expires on Nov. 1, Blue Cross spokeswoman Heidi Deja said.

The statement said that both parties will not comment on negotiations while they are in progress.

Without an agreement in place by Nov. 1, Blue Cross patients in Greensboro would have had to pay higher, out-of-network charges for care at Cone's four campuses — Moses Cone Hospital, Wesley Long Community Hospital, Women's Hospital or Reidsville's Annie Penn Hospital. Otherwise, they would have had to travel to out-of-town hospitals for treatment at network rates.

Cone has said that Blue Cross does not reimburse it enough for its treatment of Blue Cross members. Blue Cross has said its reimbursements are adequate and that Cone's requests for additional money are unreasonable.

The two sides had agreed on an 18 percent increase for 2007-08 but were divided over later years, Cone officials have said. Cone has been seeking an 8 percent increase for 2008-09 and a 7 percent increase for 2009-10, for a total 36 percent increase by July 1, 2009.

Blue Cross has declined to say what it was offering in return. Cone officials have said that Blue Cross was seeking a four-year contract with 3 percent increases in each of the last three years.

The reimbursement contract dispute has created anxiety in Guilford County, where roughly 1 in 4 people are covered by Blue Cross and almost all hospitals are owned by Moses Cone. The insurer is the state's largest, and its business with Cone provides roughly 18 percent of the health system's revenue.

Cone has objected to Blue Cross's requirement that it pay less than any other of the hundreds of insurers with which Cone deals. Blue Cross has said it is using its size to try to keep health-care costs, and thus premiums for its members, down.

Contact Lex Alexander at 373-7088 or lalexander @news-record.com