Amidst ongoing negotiations with the largest insurance provider in Illinois, Prime Healthcare says it has reached an agreement to stay in-network with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois beyond June 1.

Blue Cross sent out notifications to its Illinois customers earlier this year stating that patients of the for-profit medical group, which purchased eight Illinois hospitals from Ascension in 2025 including St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, Mercy Hospital in Aurora, and St. Mary Medical Center in Kankakee, may no longer be in-network after June 1, 2026.

The Illinois Nurses Association expressed concerns about this Monday, to which Prime replied that negotiations with BCBSIL were ongoing and that the letters “created unnecessary concern for patients” during the process.

On Thursday, Prime told Shaw Local that a breakthrough had occurred since Monday and that BCBSIL had reached an agreement for “all eight Prime Healthcare hospitals in Illinois and the medical group have remained in network with BCBSIL, and will remain in network after June 1″ and that “patients will not experience any interruption to access or increase in their cost of care.”

Prime also noted that Blue Cross has committed to communicating the change with customers who were sent notifications about the June 1 cut off.

“Prime Healthcare remains contracted with all major health plans in Illinois and is committed to continuing to work in good faith with BCBSIL to protect patient access and support the long-term sustainability of hospitals providing essential services across Illinois,” a Prime spokesperson said.

Shaw Local reached out to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, but the insurer has not returned a request for comment.