BREMERTON — Harrison Medical Center and Regence BlueShield may soon announce a new agreement.

“We’re trying to finalize a new contract with Regence … but I don’t have anything signed,” said Scott Thompson, communications manager for CHI Franciscan, on Feb. 9.

Feb. 15 has been proposed as an effective date, should an agreement be reached.

Thompson said Harrison and Regence are working on a joint press release that could possibly be released this week.

“There’s still some final details that everybody needs,” Thompson cautioned.

Regence customers have been out-of-network with Harrison since Aug. 22 when Harrison and Regence could not agree on the terms of a new contract.

Since then, Regence customers have had to travel to hospitals that are still in-network with Regence, such as St. Anthony in Gig Harbor or St. Joseph in Tacoma.

Both companies said the disagreement was over the rates needed to make running their businesses possible.

Thompson said earlier that the dispute began when Regence offered Harrison significantly lower reimbursement rates than other insurance carriers. To be fiscally responsible, Thompson said, Harrison could not accept those rates.

“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.

Thompson thought there might be over 8,500 Regence members in Kitsap County.

Harrison had sent a letter for Regence members that stated Harrison’s affiliate, CHI Franciscan, negotiated on behalf of Harrison for several months on a new contract.

“Regence refused to negotiate in good faith and offered a decrease from our current level of reimbursement for our medical services which is fiscally unsustainable long term,” the letter stated. Regence members would be out-of-network and thus pay more for any non-emergency Harrison services they want.

Emergency services, however, would still be billed in-network for any provider, Thompson said.

Regence sent out a letter stating Harrison was “unwilling to accept a fair and reasonable rate increase offered by Regence. We could not accept their demands for a reimbursement increase of 15 percent, which would substantially raise costs for not only our members, but all residents of Kitsap County.”