The Adventist Health Hanford emergency entrance is seen in this photo.

Santé Community Physicians and Adventist Health have reached a new agreement, ending a roughly six-week contract standoff that threatened in-network access for Commercial HMO and Medicare Advantage members across Fresno and Kings counties. The deal restores primary and specialty-care providers to in-network status and averts potential disruption for more than 450 providers in the two-county region.

Santé serves as an independent physician association, acting as an intermediary between insurance plans and physician groups — a role that put it at the center of negotiations with significant financial and operational implications for providers on both sides.

Meanwhile, contract talks between Community Health System and Blue Shield of California remain unresolved, with no timeline in sight. The current agreement expired Jan. 31, and both parties declined to extend it while negotiations continue. The dispute directly affects more than 1,500 City of Fresno employees.

“While we’re still in discussion with Blue Shield, we are not close to an agreement,” said Community Health System Division President Aldo De La Torre. “We know this creates disruption and frustration for patients.”

Community officials say the negotiations reflect broader pressure to secure reimbursement rates that keep pace with rising care costs — a dynamic playing out across the health care industry.

Blue Shield has pointed members to alternative in-network options, including Saint Agnes Medical Center and Valley Children’s Hospital, while talks continue.

Blue Shield said that contract negotiations were, in fact, moving forward in good faith.

“We received a proposal from Community Medical Centers this week and Blue Shield of California’s commitment is to respond by Friday,” the insurer said Tuesday.

Earlier this year, Community reached a separate agreement with Aetna, restoring in-network coverage for Fresno Unified School District retirees retroactive to Jan. 1.