BUSINESSNews in brief - Oct. 22/29, 2007Wyo. hospital fights snooping - CareFirst names new CEO - Health Net, Bank of America partner for HSA administration - Humana pushes new small-biz plan - Former WellPoint CEO takes new job Wyo. hospital fights snoopingIvinson Memorial Hospital in Laramie, Wyo., has fired one employee, suspended two others and reprimanded four more after the hospital said they were caught looking at patient records. The hospital cited HIPAA privacy regulations as precipitating its actions. The hospital said the employees had looked at patient records without authorization and that curiosity was the apparent motivation. Other employees came forward to say they had looked at their own records, but those employees were not reprimanded. Instead, the hospital reminded employees that they cannot look at any records, even their own, unless authorized to do so. HIPAA experts are split over whether the hospital should have such a rule, saying HIPAA allows patients access to their own records. But they said hospitals and practices are within their rights to tell employees that they must go through proper channels to see their records. CareFirst names new CEOMid-Atlantic health insurer CareFirst Inc. is under permanent new leadership for the first time since William Jews left in November 2006. Chester "Chet" Burrell, previously chair and CEO of Indianapolis-based RealMed Corp., an online claims processing service provider, will take over as president and CEO of CareFirst effective Dec. 1, the company announced Sept. 28. Interim President and CEO David Wolf was expected to return to his role as executive vice president for medical affairs and corporate development. Owings Mills, Md.-based CareFirst has 3.1 million members, mostly in Blue Cross Blue Shield-affiliated plans in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Health Net, Bank of America partner for HSA administrationHealth Net has joined with Bank of America to administer its members' health savings accounts. In a deal announced Oct. 3, the Los Angeles-based health plan and Charlotte, N.C.-based bank agreed to partner in offering Web-based health savings account management to Health Net members. About 2.2 million of Health Net's commercial members are eligible for HSAs, said company spokeswoman Margita Thompson. Other health plans, including WellPoint, UnitedHealth Group and the BlueCross BlueShield Assn., have established their own banks to administer members' HSAs. Thompson said the insurer wanted to focus on its core business instead of following its peers in entering the financial sector. "Our approach is to integrate and partner with best-in-class financial service companies who can then bring their expertise to the project," she said. "We'll be able to elevate each other." Humana pushes new small-biz planIn a bid to win the allegiance of small business owners, Humana has introduced a program called "No Worry." Employers agree to buy health insurance from Humana for three years. In exchange, Humana promises that premiums won't go up more than 6% in years two and three. If business owners get employees to fill out health surveys for Humana and add dental coverage, Humana will further limit premium increases to 4.5%. But over the course of those three years, the business has to move from a traditional PPO plan to a high-deductible plan paired with health spending accounts. The plans are offered in 17 states and in most states are limited to companies with between 51 and 99 employees. John Wiesler, Humana's vice president for small business sales, said the "No Worry" arrangement doesn't cost more up front -- the plans have the same benefit and network structure they would be otherwise, and cost the same. Brad Blain, an account executive with Al Torstrick insurance brokerage in Lexington, Ky., said small businesses he works with are looking for ways to ease into consumer-directed plans. "The problem is taking the initial leap to a $1,000, $1,500 or $2,000 deductible," he said. Blain and fellow brokers attended a briefing about "No Worry," and he said they weren't immediately convinced it was any better value for their customers than buying the policies outside the "No Worry" plan. "The whole concept is not bad in itself, but the concern I and some other agents had when you looked at it is how much the plan design itself reduced the rate," he said. Former WellPoint CEO takes new jobLeonard Schaeffer, founding CEO of the company that became WellPoint, this month was announced as the chair of Surgical Care Affiliates, which owns and operates 139 surgical care centers and three surgical hospitals in 35 states. Schaeffer is a senior adviser to TPG Capital, a private-equity firm that formed Surgical Care Affiliates to buy the surgery center operations of HealthSouth. Schaeffer founded WellPoint Health Services, which in 2004 merged with Anthem to become Indianapolis-based WellPoint. He left the company soon after. Copyright 2007 American Medical Association. All rights reserved. |
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