Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Centene, WellCare Turn To Insurance Regulators For Approval Following Shareholders' Overwhelming Support Of $17B Merger
Modern Healthcare: Centene-WellCare Merger Wins Shareholders' OK
Shareholders at Centene Corp. and WellCare Health Plans on Monday overwhelmingly approved the health insurers' plans to merge. Over 99% of each companies' shareholders who voted opted to approve the $17 billion deal, which was first announced in March. Combined, the companies would cover nearly 22 million people in Medicare Advantage, Medicaid and health insurance exchange plans. (Livingston, 6/24)
Stat: PatientsLikeMe, Forced To Ditch Chinese Investor, Sold To UnitedHealth
UnitedHealth Group, the largest health insurer in the United States, is purchasing PatientsLikeMe, a health technology firm, just months after it became public that the Trump administration was forcing the tech startup into a fire sale over concerns that its largest investor was Chinese. “UnitedHealth Group and PatientsLikeMe are committed to using technology and innovation to help people live healthier lives and help make the health system work better for everyone,” UnitedHealthGroup said in a statement. (Herper, 6/24)
The Wall Street Journal: FBI Probes Whether Lab Startup UBiome Used Improper Billing Codes, Sought Unnecessary Tests
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is examining whether lab-testing startup uBiome Inc. used improper billing codes in claims and sought payment for unnecessary tests, tactics that could have inappropriately enriched the company, according to people familiar with the matter. The probe also involves the role of doctors who ordered the uBiome tests, the people said. A spokesman for uBiome declined to comment about the investigation. (Wilde Mathews and Dockser Marcus, 6/24)
Modern Healthcare: UPMC, Highmark Sign 10-Year Truce On In-Network Access
A week before thousands of people would have lost access to UPMC providers, Highmark Health and UPMC reached a 10-year agreement to let Highmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield patients continue receiving care at UPMC facilities in Western Pennsylvania. On Monday, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced that the two organizations and Shapiro had negotiated a deal giving Highmark enrollees access to all UPMC hospitals and physicians. (Meyer, 6/24)
