Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina has struck a deal to acquire 55 urgent care centers from FastMed, the insurer announced Friday.
The nonprofit carrier plans to ramp up FastMed operations in North Carolina after a downturn related to the COVID-19 pandemic, in part by boosting hiring. The parties did not disclose the terms of the sale agreement.
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“With approximately half of FastMed’s clinics located in rural areas of our state with limited access to healthcare resources, this is an important investment in North Carolina,” Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina President and CEO Dr. Tunde Sotunde said in a news release.
FastMed, which has provided preventive, telehealth, occupational health, primary care and urgent care services in Arizona, Florida, North Carolina and Texas, has been divesting urgent care centers in recent months. The Raleigh, North Carolina-based company sold 26 locations to Scottsdale, Arizona-based nonprofit health system HonorHealth in July. In May, Nashville, Tennessee-based HCA Healthcare announced it would acquire 41 FastMed sites in Texas.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina has been a non-controlling minority investor in FastMed for more than a decade. The acquisition is expected to close early next year. If the sale clears regulatory reviews, FastMed would operate independently and accept patients with other coverage.
