Lines Between Payer, Provider Blur With New Alliance Between Cleveland Clinic, Oscar

The Washington Post: The Cleveland Clinic Is Partnering With Josh Kushner's Start-Up To Participate In Obamacare
At a time when many health insurers are exiting the exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act or thinking about it, one of the top-ranked hospitals in the country is jumping in — and they're doing it through an alliance with a health insurer co-founded by Ivanka Trump's brother-in-law, Joshua Kushner. Cleveland Clinic, a nonprofit academic medical center, is partnering with Oscar Health to sell individual insurance plans in five northeast Ohio counties. The plans will be available on the exchanges, where people can use government subsidies to purchase health coverage as well as off the exchanges, where people bear the full cost of their health coverage. (Johnson, 6/15)

Modern Healthcare: Cleveland Clinic Jumps Into Insurance Biz With Oscar Health
Despite the instability of the market, Cleveland Clinic and Oscar are betting that a narrow network plan focused on keeping patients out of the hospital with help from care coordinators will keep their product afloat. "If you put a product out in the market that is less like traditional health insurance and sick-care oriented, and much more a consumer product that people want to engage with, that they like to tell their friends and family about, that pays them a dollar day to walk steps and things like that, you are going to attract … plenty of 25- and 35-year old's who just want to have good healthcare," Oscar CEO and co-founder Mario Schlosser said. (Livingston, 6/15)

The Hill: Cleveland Clinic To Enter ObamaCare Markets Amid Uncertainty 
Anthem announced last week that it would exit the exchanges in Ohio, leaving 18 counties with no provider in 2018. None of the five counties to be covered by the Cleveland Clinic and Oscar include those impacted by Anthem's departure, however. (Hellmann, 6/15)