Two local health-care giants — one providing care and the other insuring patients — disagreed over reimbursement rates, drawing doctors, patients, and medical staff into the fray this fall.

A contract agreement has now been reached between St. Peter’s Health Partners and Capital District Physicians Health Plan, announced in a joint press release on Wednesday. Their current one-year contract expires at the end of the month.

Both sides said that the contract is confidential and rates can’t be revealed, nor can the length of the contract be revealed.

The agreement guarantees CDPHP members continued access to care at St. Peter’s Health Partners’ facilities, but tensions remain.

“At the end of the day, CDPHP administrative costs are at record low levels,” said Ali Skinner, spokeswoman for CDPHP. She said CDPHP’s administrative costs ranged between 8 and 10 percent, with 1- to 2-percent profits.

Skinner contrasted this to hospitals, where she said, “Thirty-three cents of every premium dollar goes to the hospital.” She sent a graph showing that 22 percent goes to physicians, another 22 percent to pharmacies, and 7 percent to taxes.

She went on, “It’s not insurance companies making money with these deals.” She noted, “We have to report all this to the Department of Financial Services. We’re very transparent.”

Skinner concluded, “We remain committed to fighting for affordable prices.”

On the other hand, Elmer Streeter, spokesman for St. Peter’s, had told The Enterprise in November, “All we ask for is that CDPHP pay us a rate which is fair and is what other commercial payers pay us.” He also said of the rates in the current contract, “This is not a new situation. It has been occurring for probably many years. We cannot allow it to go on. We need a fair rate...to stay in operation.”

Streeter said Wednesday evening St. Peter’s goal had been met. “Our goal was to be paid a rate similar to what we are paid by others, to allow us to invest in technology, people, and facilities,” he said.

Asked about Skinner’s comment that 33 cents of every premium dollar goes to hospitals, Streeter said, “We need to be paid the cost it takes to provide the kind of care the community wants.”

Streeter also stressed, “This is a local contract with SPHP, not a contract with Trinity Health.”

CDPHP had alleged St. Peter’s posture on the need for higher rates was because it became a member of Trinity Health in 2013. Based in Livonia, Michigan, Trinity Health is in 22 states with 93 hospitals and 97,000 full-time employees, including 5,300 physicians, according to Eve Pidgeon, spokeswoman for Trinity Health.

“Decisions related to negotiations with CDPHP are made by SPHP’s leadership, in consultation with the SPHP Board of Directors,” said Pidgeon. “Their concerns are centered on local health needs and competitive market realities — as they should be.”

Both sides developed websites to take their case directly to patients and medical staff with each side saying it was prepared to provide for patients if no accord was reached.

“We have a large, robust network and would be able to make sure patients get the care they need,” Skinner had said in the midst of the fray, noting patients who wanted to stay with CDPHP would be helped in finding new health-care providers in the insurance network.

“We have posted all the plans we operate with,” Streeter said in November, indicating that patients can stay with St. Peter’s by switching insurance plans (online at AltamontEnterprise.com for Nov. 17, 2016.)

Streeter said on Wednesday, “We felt we had an obligation to let people know.”

Now, however, in the joint release issued Wednesday afternoon, the chief executive officers of each issued conciliatory statements.

“Strong partnerships with health-care insurers, like CDPHP, are important to support and advance the quality of health care we provide to the community,” said James K. Reed, M.D., president and CEO of St. Peter’s Health Partners, in the release. “St. Peter’s Health Partners is pleased to reach a contract agreement with CDPHP – one of our most significant partners — that will allow CDPHP members continued access to the comprehensive and compassionate care our 12,500 staff members provide every day.”

“For more than 30 years, CDPHP has fought to protect our members’ right to high-quality care at an affordable price,” said CDPHP president and CEO, Dr. John D. Bennett. “We are pleased to have reached an agreement with St. Peter’s Health Partners and we remain committed to fighting for affordable health care for the communities that we serve.”