County Realignment Update: Transition Date Moved Up

The transition date for the realignment of Mecklenburg and Orange counties to Alliance Health has been moved up from December 15 to December 1. The NC Department of Health and Human Services made this decision in consideration of operational factors that make that date preferable to a mid-month transition.

Our preparations and planning are on-track to provide a seamless transition for the people we will serve in Mecklenburg and Orange counties beginning on the Dec. 1 transition date. This includes the recent acquisition of office space for our employees that will be based in Orange County.

Alliance is working to optimize continuity of care for Mecklenburg and Orange county residents currently served by Cardinal Innovations by offering current Cardinal staff, including care coordinators, the opportunity to pursue employment with Alliance. We plan to continue care coordinator assignments as they were with Cardinal if a member’s Cardinal care coordinator has come to work at Alliance and the member wishes to continue that relationship. In cases where a member’s care coordinator does not transition to Alliance, we are committed to assigning a care coordinator who will effectively meet that person’s needs.

We are also focused on helping members of the Cardinal provider network serving Mecklenburg and Orange transition to the Alliance network. We have held provider meet-and-greet sessions virtually and on-site and are working hard to make the contracting process problem-free for transitioning providers. Alliance is also hosting a virtual Provider Orientation on Wednesday, November 17, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Representatives from our Provider Network, Access, Utilization Management, and Claims departments will share information to help orient providers to Alliance. 

To boost awareness about the transition in both counties and to offer information about Alliance Health to Mecklenburg and Orange members, we will roll out a new multi-media information campaign later in November. Radio ads will air on two Mecklenburg County English-language stations and a Spanish-language station, and we are placing ad cards on 162 Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) buses. In Orange County, Alliance will sponsor For ‘Em On the Hill, a week-long “community conversation” on WCHL in early December designed to create broad awareness of issues facing that community.

Additionally, informational posters in English and Spanish will be distributed by Alliance community outreach staff to local public health and social services offices, community partner organizations, and in other public spaces, and digital advertising will focus on residents of both counties.

We want Mecklenburg and Orange county residents to know that all of us at Alliance are proud to be a new part of these communities!