Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana said it has reached an agreement in principle with the operator of Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center on a new contract.

Details of the agreement were not made available, though Blue Cross said its offer is one it made Jan. 8 and “allows for a minimal inflationary increase. ”

The sticking point in the negotiations, which stalled late last year, is the rates that Blue Cross would pay Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System, which operates the Lake and its sister facilities in Lafayette, Gonzales, Monroe and Napoleonville.

Until tonight, Blue Cross wanted FMOL to accept either a zero percent increase or to accept a 3 percent rate increase but require patients using Blue Cross to personally pay up to $4,000 out of pocket for major procedures.

It said it could find no justification for the higher rates it said FMOL was requesting; FMOL countered Blue Cross had already raised its rates for next year, which meant none of those savings would be passed on to consumers.

If the current deal is finalized, it would save tens of thousands of Blue Cross customers in Baton Rouge the higher costs they would pay if Lake facilities were no longer in their insurer’s network.

“The continuation of FMOL’s contract with Blue Cross means that physicians and providers affiliated with or employed by the system will also remain in the insurer’s networks,” the Blue Cross said in a prepared statement.

Representatives for the Franciscan Missionaries could not be reached for comment.