Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Aetna Reportedly May Sell Medicare Advantage Assets To Ease Concerns About Humana Merger
Reuters: Aetna Launches Medicare Advantage Asset Sale: Sources
Aetna Inc has launched an auction to sell a portfolio of Medicare Advantage assets as it seeks antitrust approval for its $37 billion acquisition of U.S. health insurance peer Humana Inc, according to people familiar with the matter. The company is hoping the move will help ease antitrust concerns. Merging Aetna's and Humana's Medicare Advantage businesses would make the combined company the largest U.S. manager of the healthcare insurance for seniors and the disabled. (O'Donnell and Humer, 7/1)
Bloomberg: Aetna Said To Plan Asset Sales To Quash Antitrust Worries
The company is working with advisers to identify a portfolio of assets that could, if divested, reduce any significant overlap between its operations and those of Humana, the people said, asking not to be identified as the matter is private. The process is advanced and assets could be marketed to potential buyers within weeks, the people said. Any sale of assets by Aetna would be conditional on the completion of its deal with Humana, they said. (Tracer, 7/1)
Modern Healthcare: CMS Updates Rule Allowing Claims Data To Be Sold
Data mining of patient medical records kept by the federal government will get a boost by the CMS, following the release of finalized changes to the so-called Qualified Entity Program. The final rule released Friday authorizes certain CMS-approved organizations – including for-profit companies – to buy Medicare claims and other federal data at a price that matches the governments' cost in processing the data. (Conn and Rubenfire, 7/1)
And in Medicare consumer news —
Miami Herald: In Miami, Private Medicare Plans Cover Half Or Less Of Local Hospitals, Study Finds
Private Medicare is big business in Miami-Dade, where nearly 278,000 people receive their healthcare benefits through an insurance company, such as Cigna, Humana or United Health. But choosing a private Medicare plan by one of the most basic criteria — whether that plan includes a preferred hospital — can be frustrating if not impossible for consumers, potentially exposing them to higher costs from out-of-network providers, according to a new study by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation, a health policy think tank. (Chang, 7/1)
Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal: US Senate Plan To Strip Medicare Assistance Funding Riles Local Advocates
Local access to free counseling on annual Medicare options could dry up, beginning in October, if Congress chooses to eliminate all $52.1 million in funding within the 2016-17 federal budget. ... In 2015, more than 2,000 individuals were assisted in Forsyth County, along with 108,651 in North Carolina and more than 7 million nationwide, said Sam Matthews, executive director of The Shepherd Center in Winston-Salem. This is the only program that provides free, unbiased, one-on-one benefit information counseling to seniors, people with disabilities and their families,” Matthews said. (Craver, 7/3)
Related KHN coverage: Senate Panel Kills Medicare Program That Offers Help On Enrollment, Billing Issues (Jaffe, 6/17)
The Orlando Sentinel: Missing Your Medicare Enrollment Window Can Cost You Big - For The Rest Of Your Life
The federal health care program, which covers 4 million senior and disabled Floridians, provides a specific seven-month enrollment period for Medicare Part A and Part B that is centered around your 65th birthday. Miss that window of opportunity and there's a good chance of a monetary penalty being tacked onto your monthly Medicare Part B premium – for the rest of your life. (Lade, 7/4)
