Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Mark Bertolini, A Key Player In Aetna Deal, Forced Out By CVS Board Exposing Lingering Tensions Over Merger
The Wall Street Journal: CVS Sloughs Off Key Player In Aetna Deal
CVS Health Corp. announcement Monday that former Aetna Inc. Chief Executive Mark Bertolini will leave the CVS board exposed tensions underlying one of the biggest U.S. health-care mergers. Mr. Bertolini joined the board after the pharmacy operator paid nearly $70 billion to buy the health insurer in 2018. The two companies promised an ambitious health-care transformation, melding their varied businesses of filling prescriptions, managing drug benefits and providing health insurance to reduce costs and improve customer experience. (Wilde Mathews, 2/3)
Bloomberg: CVS Shrinks Board, Drops Ex-Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini As Director
CVS Health Corp. will drop three directors from its 16-member board, including Mark Bertolini, the former chief executive of Aetna, the health insurer it bought in a transformative $68 billion deal in 2018. The changes, which will shrink the board to 13 members, are being made to “further align with corporate governance best practices,” Woonsocket, Rhode Island-based CVS said in a statement Monday. (Armstrong, 2/3)
In other news on the health industry —
The Hill: Pelosi Enters Fight Over Surprise Medical Bills
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is entering a contentious battle over protecting patients from getting “surprise” medical bills, trying to overcome a rift between two Democratic chairmen and allow a bipartisan priority to move forward. Pelosi met with House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) on Wednesday and urged them to figure out a way to bridge the gap between their rival approaches, according to people familiar with the meeting. (Sullivan, 2/4)
Kaiser Health News: What To Do If Your Home Health Care Agency Ditches You
Craig Holly was determined to fight when the home health agency caring for his wife decided to cut off services Jan. 18. The reason he was given by an agency nurse? His wife was disabled but stable, and Medicare was changing its payment system for home health. Euphrosyne “Effie” Costas-Holly, 67, has advanced multiple sclerosis. She can’t walk or stand and relies on an overhead lift system to move from room to room in their house. (Graham, 2/4)
