PORTLAND (AP) — A health exchange proposed under the Affordable Health Care Act by MaineHealth and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield has cleared a major hurdle.

The Bureau of Insurance on Thursday approved the proposed network of hospitals and physicians, with some modifications.

The Portland Press Herald reported that Maine Insurance Superintendent Eric Cioppa wrote in his order that Anthem’s network is “capable of providing ‘reasonable access to health service.’”

The bureau still has to approve pricing and whether existing customers can be moved into the new plans.

Central Maine HealthCare had slammed the proposed Anthem-MaineHealth network as a “backroom deal” that discriminated against subscribers in central and western parts of the state, who’d have to travel farther for care.