Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC) has agreed to acquire all North Carolina-based locations of FastMed^™. This will enable FastMed and Blue Cross NC, two North Carolina companies, to work together to fortify health care capacity in the state so North Carolinians have access to critical points of quality, affordable care. 

“With approximately half of FastMed’s clinics located in rural areas of our state with limited access to health care resources, this is an important investment in North Carolina,” said Blue Cross NC President and CEO, Tunde Sotunde. “This pending acquisition would fortify critical access points of care across the state and would benefit everyone, not just Blue Cross NC members. As a North Carolina-based, mission-driven, fully taxed, not-for-profit company, we serve all North Carolinians.” 

Like other providers, FastMed has been impacted by pressures on the health care workforce in recent years, resulting in staffing challenges and scaled-back service hours. Blue Cross NC's short-term plans for FastMed include returning FastMed locations to pre-pandemic service operations. Blue Cross NC and FastMed will collaborate on ways to further enhance the patient experience at North Carolina FastMed locations. 

For more information, read the full press release in our Newsroom. 

Note: This pending acquisition is planned to close in early 2024. Blue Cross NC, which has been a non-controlling minority investor in FastMed since 2012, has agreed to acquire only FastMed’s North Carolina locations. FastMed would operate independently from Blue Cross NC, which is a fully taxed not-for-profit company headquartered in Durham, North Carolina. FastMed would continue to serve all North Carolinians and those visiting the state, not just Blue Cross NC members. The completion of this pending business transaction is subject to the fulfillment of customary closing conditions. 

Blue Cross NC members can still visit any urgent or primary care location and are not limited to FastMed. There are no plans to change that at this time. Members should use the Find Care tool on BlueCrossNC.com to search for in-network providers.