Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia and Northside Radiology Associates (NRA) have signed a multi-year agreement keeping radiology services in-network for Anthem members. The companies announced the deal.
Anthem is the largest health insurer in Georgia, covering more than 3.3 million members, roughly one-third of the state's population, according to eHealth. The agreement applies to employer-sponsored, individual, Medicaid, and Medicare Advantage plan members.
NRA is a Georgia-based physician practice and an affiliate of Radiology Partners, the largest technology-enabled radiology practice in the US by facility count. It provides diagnostic imaging, interventional radiology, emergency radiology, stroke imaging, breast imaging, and nuclear medicine services at hospitals and outpatient facilities across Georgia.
Amanda Free, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia, said radiology "plays a vital role in helping patients receive timely diagnoses and the right care at the right time." Dr. Nicholas Waddell, associate chief medical officer of clinical operations at NRA, said the agreement supports "hospitals, physicians, and patients across Georgia by providing reliable access to high-quality radiology services."
A smooth renewal is worth noting specifically in Georgia, where Anthem has a recent history of network disputes serious enough to affect hundreds of thousands of patients and, in one case, land in court.
In late 2021 and early 2022, Anthem and Northside Hospital, a five-hospital system serving metro Atlanta, spent months unable to agree on reimbursement rates, a standoff that put roughly 400,000 patients at risk of losing in-network access. A Fulton County Superior Court injunction kept the contract in place while negotiations continued, and the two sides didn't reach a permanent agreement until mid-2022.
In 2023, Anthem's contract with Northeast Georgia Health System expired with no new agreement in place, and NGHS facilities were forced out of network entirely as of October 1 that year. That relationship has since been repaired: Anthem announced a renewed multi-year agreement with NGHS in May 2025, one of the "similar renewals" referenced below.
Against that backdrop, the NRA deal is better read as part of a deliberate pattern of Anthem stabilizing Georgia provider relationships that have previously been disrupted, or were at risk of disruption, rather than a routine formality.
Anthem Georgia has signed a series of multi-year provider agreements over the past year. Similar renewals with Northeast Georgia Health System and CHI Memorial were announced in May and October 2025, respectively.
For benefits brokers placing group health coverage with Anthem in Georgia, the deal confirms network continuity for a services category employer clients use regularly. Given Anthem's own recent history of contract disputes with other Georgia providers, some going all the way to a forced out-of-network period, brokers with clients enrolled in Anthem plans have good reason to track this renewal calendar directly rather than assume network stability by default, particularly around contract expiration dates for other major providers in a client's specific service area. Imaging network disruptions of the kind Northside patients faced are a recurring source of unexpected out-of-pocket costs for plan members and a common friction point brokers end up managing reactively during renewal conversations if they aren't tracked ahead of time.
