News in brief - Aug. 10, 2009

Calif. regulators try to rein in medical discount card firms

The California Dept. of Health Care issued an operating license to a medical discount program earlier this year after winning court approval to regulate them, and now the state is ordering other firms to get licensed or stop selling in California.

Discount plans are not insurance, but a DMHC news release said the agency gets complaints from customers alleging that the firms told them they were buying insurance.

The DMHC said two plans, Prudent Choice and International Assn. of Benefits, both based in Texas, had initiated the licensing process but didn't finish. The DMHC ordered a third firm, DentalPlans.com, based in Plantation, Fla., to file a licensing application by Sept. 15. None of the plans responded to calls seeking comment.

The print version of this content appeared in the Aug 17, 2009 issue of American Medical News.

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N.D., S.D. health systems to merge

Sanford Health and MeritCare Health System, two large hospital systems in the Dakotas, have signed a letter of intent to begin combining to create a large regional integrated health care system, according to a July 17 announcement.

MeritCare is North Dakota's largest health system, with sites in that state as well as Minnesota. Sanford is a network of community hospitals and clinics in South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska.

The proposal includes improving health care delivery, including representatives on governing boards from across the region and letting physicians have a strong voice in the new system.

MeritCare is best known for its Heart Center, Children's Hospital and Roger Maris Cancer Center. Sanford recently received a $400 million gift for the initiation of new children's health care and research programs, including attempts to find a cure for type 1 diabetes.

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Aetna to buy employee assistance business for $70 million

The country's third-largest private health plan, Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna, is moving to create a larger presence for itself in the employee assistance program market with the purchase of Horizon Behavioral Services.

Employee assistance programs typically coordinate psychiatric services and substance abuse treatment for workers on behalf of a given employer. They often also offer other services, such as directing employees to financial counseling or physical therapy.

Horizon, based in Lewisville, Texas, is the third-largest provider of employee assistance programs in the country and is a subsidiary of Psychiatric Solutions, the country's largest operator of privately owned or leased psychiatric inpatient hospitals, according to Aetna.

Aetna plans to pay $70 million for Horizon, which has 1,400 employer clients with a collective 5 million workers both in the U.S. and internationally. The deal is subject to federal and state regulatory approval.

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Military service members and families in Hawaii will get access to e-visits

Tricare contractor TriWest Healthcare Alliance has contracted with Boston-based American Well to cover online behavioral health visits to beneficiaries in Hawaii.

The state's Blues plan, Health Services Corp., opened access to American Well's platform to all Hawaii residents in 2008 but paid for the visits only for its members -- others could pay out of pocket.

Now Tricare beneficiaries on the islands will have the same benefit for visits with psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers, according to American Well's announcement. The new benefit was set to kick in Aug. 1.

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