Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1186182
16 CFO / FINANCE Boston safety- net hospital raises $450M, defying expectations By Alia Paavola D espite facing unique fundrais- ing challenges because it is a safety-net provider, Boston Medical Center defied expectations and raised $450 million in six years, according to e Boston Globe. "We can't find anything like it around the country," Kate Walsh, Boston Medical Center's CEO, told e Globe. "ere's no freestanding safety- net hospital that has raised these kinds of dollars." Boston Medical Center has a high patient population reliant on gov- ernment insurance or who are unin- sured. While many hospitals can turn to their patients to help raise money, the safety-net hospital lacks a pool of wealthy patients who appreciate their treatment and have the means to give back. "Most hospitals and research organi- zations in our town have very grateful patients who oen go on to become donors," Kate Walsh, Boston Medi- cal Center's CEO, told e Globe. "At Boston Medical Center, they write us heartwarming notes. ey'll send us $5 in a card. But they›re not [usually] in a position to make substantial contributions." Still, the hospital was able to raise an amount that other hospitals across the nation would envy, according to the report. Ms. Walsh said that about half the donations came from individuals and foundations and the remainder came from corporate gis or competitive grant programs. e six-year $450 million fundraising campaign was the largest in Boston Medical Center's history. n 3 things to know about the 2020 federal health insurance exchanges By Morgan Haefner C MS said Oct. 22 that the average premium for silver plans on the ACA health insurance exchange fell for the second year in a row. Three things to know about the 2020 federal health insurance changes: 1. In 2020, the average premium for the second-lowest cost silver plan on Health- Care.gov will decrease by 4 percent for a 27-year-old. 2. Twenty additional payers will sell individual health plans in states using the fed- eral health insurance exchange platform. In total, 175 health plans will be available, up from 132 in 2018. 3. Six states will see double-digit percentage declines in average premiums for silver plans serving 27-year-olds: Delaware (20 percent), Nebraska (15 percent), North Dakota (15 percent), Montana (14 percent), Oklahoma (14 percent), and Utah (10 percent). The decreases come after widespread premium increases in 2017. n Cleveland Clinic, Oscar expand co-health plan By Morgan Haefner C leveland Clinic and health insurance startup Oscar will extend their co-brand- ed health insurance plans to three additional counties in Ohio for 2020, the organizations said Oct. 10. The health plans will be available on and off Ohio's individual health insurance exchange beginning Nov. 1 in the state's Ashtabula, Geauga and Portage counties. The plans will feature 24/7 telemedicine services and access to care teams and navigators. Coverage will begin Jan. 1, 2020. Currently, Cleveland Clinic + Oscar serves 11,000 Ohio residents in five counties. The companies said the "decision to expand comes after a successful start to the partnership," which was announced in 2017 and launched in 2018. The health plan marked Cleveland Clinic's first entry into the health insurance market n Georgia health system pays patients' out-of- network costs By Ayla Ellison G ainesville-based Northeast Georgia Health System's contract with An- them ended Sept. 30, but the health system is spending millions to ensure patients aren't hit with out-of-network costs for visiting its physicians and hospitals, according to the Albany Herald. Anthem members will only be required to pay in-network prices at NGHS' facilities through Dec. 31. The health system will cover any additional costs patients incur because the system is out of network. "While it will cost millions of dollars per month to protect our patients from out-of- network costs, we'd rather do that than agree to a proposal that would jeopardize the health of our community for years to come," Steve McNeilly, vice president of managed care for NGHS, told the Albany Herald. n