Johns Hopkins Medicine and CareFirst Reach New Strategic Agreement

Parties chart a new course to bring greater value to shared communities

Johns Hopkins Medicine and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (CareFirst) have agreed to a new multiyear contract to provide high-quality care options while building on a long-standing relationship and commitment to serving our shared communities. This agreement ensures continued service to existing members and patients while opening new opportunities to create value for the people and communities we serve.

“We are pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement with CareFirst to keep our doctors, nurses and other caregivers in CareFirst’s network,” said Theodore L. DeWeese, M.D., interim dean of the medical faculty and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine. “Our goal was to reach a resolution before our patients had to make changes to their care or their coverage, and we appreciate CareFirst’s collaboration to make that happen.”

“Together, CareFirst and Johns Hopkins Medicine are poised to continue providing high-quality health care and maintain our focus on the people who matter most: members and patients,” said Brian D. Pieninck, president and CEO, CareFirst. “The impact of our partnership remains tied to advancing health outcomes in the community, and this new agreement provides the structure necessary to organize our efforts and deliver on that shared goal.”

“Our patients are our top priority,” added Kevin W. Sowers, M.S.N., R.N., F.A.A.N., president of the Johns Hopkins Health System and executive vice president of Johns Hopkins Medicine. “We look forward to continuing to work with CareFirst to best support the communities we serve.” 

Through this new agreement, Johns Hopkins Medicine and CareFirst have reinforced their commitment to continuing this relationship while recognizing that, together, they will create an even more significant impact on the health of this region for years to come.

About CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield

In its 85th year of service, CareFirst, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, is a not-for-profit healthcare company which, through its affiliates and subsidiaries, offers a comprehensive portfolio of health insurance products and administrative services to 3.6 million individuals and employers in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Northern Virginia. In 2021, CareFirst invested $26.2 million to improve overall health, and increase the accessibility, affordability, safety and quality of healthcare throughout its market areas. To learn more about CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, visit our website at www.carefirst.com and our transforming healthcare page at www.carefirst.com/transformation, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram.

About Johns Hopkins Medicine

Johns Hopkins Medicine is a $9.7 billion integrated global health enterprise and one of the leading academic health care systems in the United States. It unites the physicians and scientists of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine with the organizations, health professionals and facilities of the Johns Hopkins Health System. Diverse and inclusive, Johns Hopkins educates medical students, scientists, health care professionals and the public; conducts biomedical research; and provides patient-centered medicine to prevent, diagnose and treat human illness. Johns Hopkins Medicine has six academic and community hospitals in Maryland, the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region and Florida, including The Johns Hopkins Hospital, which opened in 1889. The organization operates four health care and surgery centers, four ambulatory surgery centers, and more than 40 primary and specialty care outpatient sites under Johns Hopkins Community Physicians. Johns Hopkins Medicine extends health care into the community through Johns Hopkins Home Care Group and Johns Hopkins HealthCare, and around the world through Johns Hopkins Medicine International. For information about the enterprise and its research, education and clinical programs, and for the latest health, science and research news, visit hopkinsmedicine.org.