Health News
- Merger Mania: Aetna Bids For Humana; Cigna May Want It Too; Anthem Has Bid For Cigna; Unitedhealth Makes A Play For Aetna
Aetna Inc. has made a bid to buy Louisville-based Humana Inc.,"one of a number of recent moves by big health insurers to find merger partners," Dana Mattioli and Liz Hoffman report for The Wall Street Journal. The proposal was made in "the last few days,"...
- State's Largest Health Care System Says It Will End Contract With Coventry Cares
KentuckyOne Health, the state's largest health-care system with almost 200 hospitals, physician groups, primary care centers and other agencies, is canceling its contracts with Coventry Cares, one of the state's four Medicaid managed-care organizations....
- Coventry Offers To Keep Paying Arh, But Less, For Treating Medicaid Patients; Asks Danville Chain To Renegotiate
Coventry Cares has offered to pay for treatments at Appalachian Regional Healthcare as a "non-contracted provider," which would mean ARH would be paid far less than it is now, but coverage for ARH's 25,000 Medicaid patient members would not be interrupted....
- Managed-care Firm Coventry Threatens To Terminate Contracts Of Baptist Healthcare And Big Ashland Hospital
Lexington Herald-Leader photo by Charles BertramIssues with the state's managed-care companies continue to mount. Now Coventry Cares has told Baptist Healthcare System, which has hospitals in Lexington, Louisville, La Grange, Paducah and Corbin,...
- Appalachian Hospital Chain, Facing Loss Of 25,000 Medicaid Patients, Sues Managed-care Firms And State
"Appalachian Regional Healthcare, the largest health care system in Eastern Kentucky, has filed lawsuits against two of the state's Medicaid managed care companies, alleging that the managed care companies had not paid claims promptly," report Valarie...
Health News
Aetna buying Coventry, which manages some Medicaid care
Aetna will buy Coventry Health Care for about $5.6 billion as the third-largest health insurance company poises itself for more Medicare and Medicaid patients under the federal health-care reform law.
Coventry Cares is one of four managed care organizations that supervise care for Kentucky's Medicaid patients. But since being put in place last November, the company reports it has been beleaguered by shortfalls and has threatened to end many contracts with hospitals.
"It's a deal that almost had to happen," said thomas Carroll, a Stifel Nicolaus & Co. analyst in Baltimore. "For Aetna to really compete effectively amongst the other large national managed care companies, they have to do more in terms of gaining market share in the commercial business as well as getting a bigger foothold in Medicare and Medicaid, which are the growth areas in managed care over the next decade."
The health care law "seeks to add as many as 17 million patients under Medicaid, the insurance program for the poor, while individuals states have increasingly turned to insurers to help them manage existing programs at lower costs," reports the Bloomberg News. "Medicare managed-care plans are among the fastest-growing products for health insurers as Americans age." (Read more)
Coventry Cares is one of four managed care organizations that supervise care for Kentucky's Medicaid patients. But since being put in place last November, the company reports it has been beleaguered by shortfalls and has threatened to end many contracts with hospitals.
"It's a deal that almost had to happen," said thomas Carroll, a Stifel Nicolaus & Co. analyst in Baltimore. "For Aetna to really compete effectively amongst the other large national managed care companies, they have to do more in terms of gaining market share in the commercial business as well as getting a bigger foothold in Medicare and Medicaid, which are the growth areas in managed care over the next decade."
The health care law "seeks to add as many as 17 million patients under Medicaid, the insurance program for the poor, while individuals states have increasingly turned to insurers to help them manage existing programs at lower costs," reports the Bloomberg News. "Medicare managed-care plans are among the fastest-growing products for health insurers as Americans age." (Read more)
- Merger Mania: Aetna Bids For Humana; Cigna May Want It Too; Anthem Has Bid For Cigna; Unitedhealth Makes A Play For Aetna
Aetna Inc. has made a bid to buy Louisville-based Humana Inc.,"one of a number of recent moves by big health insurers to find merger partners," Dana Mattioli and Liz Hoffman report for The Wall Street Journal. The proposal was made in "the last few days,"...
- State's Largest Health Care System Says It Will End Contract With Coventry Cares
KentuckyOne Health, the state's largest health-care system with almost 200 hospitals, physician groups, primary care centers and other agencies, is canceling its contracts with Coventry Cares, one of the state's four Medicaid managed-care organizations....
- Coventry Offers To Keep Paying Arh, But Less, For Treating Medicaid Patients; Asks Danville Chain To Renegotiate
Coventry Cares has offered to pay for treatments at Appalachian Regional Healthcare as a "non-contracted provider," which would mean ARH would be paid far less than it is now, but coverage for ARH's 25,000 Medicaid patient members would not be interrupted....
- Managed-care Firm Coventry Threatens To Terminate Contracts Of Baptist Healthcare And Big Ashland Hospital
Lexington Herald-Leader photo by Charles BertramIssues with the state's managed-care companies continue to mount. Now Coventry Cares has told Baptist Healthcare System, which has hospitals in Lexington, Louisville, La Grange, Paducah and Corbin,...
- Appalachian Hospital Chain, Facing Loss Of 25,000 Medicaid Patients, Sues Managed-care Firms And State
"Appalachian Regional Healthcare, the largest health care system in Eastern Kentucky, has filed lawsuits against two of the state's Medicaid managed care companies, alleging that the managed care companies had not paid claims promptly," report Valarie...