Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
After Negotiations Stalled For Nearly A Year, Tenet And Cigna Smooth Out Differences
Modern Healthcare: Tenet, Cigna Reach New Contract To End Network Dispute
Cigna Corp.'s commercial members still have in-network access to Tenet Healthcare Corp. facilities after the major insurer and hospital chain announced they had reached a multiyear contract deal on Jan. 1. Contract negotiations had been stalled for almost a year, with both Bloomfield, Conn.-based Cigna and Dallas-based Tenet publicly blaming one another for the disagreement that threatened to leave Tenet's hospitals, outpatient centers and employed physicians out-of-network for Cigna members. The previous contract ended Dec. 31, 2018. (Bannow, 1/2)
In other health industry news —
Modern Healthcare: Sanford Health And Good Samaritan Close Merger
Sanford Health and the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society completed their merger, the organizations announced Wednesday. Sanford, which has 45 hospitals, more than 1,300 physicians and 28,000 employees, adds Good Samaritan and its 200-plus post-acute, skilled-nursing, hospice, assisted-living, rehabilitation and home-health facilities to its network, along with Good Samaritan's 19,000 employees. Their combined footprint spans 26 states. (Kacik, 1/2)
The Star Tribune: Sanford Health Eyes Growth In Senior Care
Sanford Health officials are talking about the potential for growth after closing Jan. 1 on a deal to merge with Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, another nonprofit group based in South Dakota that’s also a large operator of senior care facilities. Sioux Falls-based Sanford Health currently generates about $4.5 billion to $5 billion per year in revenue, while Good Samaritan sees annual revenue of $1 billion to $1.5 billion, said Kelby Krabbenhoft, the chief executive at Sanford, in an interview. (Snowbeck, 1/2)
