North Carolina approves Vaya Health, Partners Health merger for 2026

State regulators have cleared a major shift in western North Carolina’s behavioral health system, approving the consolidation of Vaya Health and Partners Health Management on May 22, 2026. The merger is scheduled to take effect Oct. 1, 2026, after a successful readiness review, and the new organization will operate as Vaya Partners.

For Buncombe County, the decision matters because Vaya Health’s current service area includes the county and helps manage Medicaid-funded mental health, substance-use, intellectual and developmental disability, and traumatic brain injury services. That makes the consolidation more than an administrative change: it could affect how Asheville-area residents are referred, how providers coordinate care, and which offices handle billing and member questions once the transition begins.

The combined organization is expected to serve more than 222,000 members across 47 counties, making it the largest publicly governed behavioral health organization in North Carolina. Vaya now serves a 32-county region, while Partners Health Management serves 15 counties, including Gaston, Forsyth, Davie and Davidson. NC Medicaid says there is one LME/MCO for each county in the state, which underscores how much this change will reshape the map of publicly funded behavioral health care.

The approval also followed formal action by the boards of directors of both organizations, according to Vaya Health provider communications. That matters for patients and caregivers because a merger of this scale can ripple through provider networks, administrative contacts and care coordination long before clients see a new logo or website. Families who rely on Medicaid-supported behavioral health care often feel those changes first in the everyday details: who answers the phone, which referral paths remain open and whether a longtime clinician stays in network.

North Carolina has already been through a major LME/MCO consolidation before. In 2024, Trillium Health Resources and Eastpointe Human Services were consolidated after Sandhills Center was dissolved, with county realignments and transition planning meant to reduce disruption for beneficiaries, providers and counties. That history suggests the state will again try to manage the Vaya Partners transition with continuity in mind, but for Buncombe County residents the real test will come in whether access stays steady as the Oct. 1 deadline approaches.