Becker's Hospital Review

17 CFO / FINANCE Advocate Aurora Health to sell 2 hospitals By Ayla Ellison A dvocate Aurora Health, a 28-hospital system with dual headquarters in Milwaukee and Downers Grove, Ill., has entered into a definitive agreement to sell two hospitals to Urbana, Ill.-based Carle. Under the agreement, Carle will acquire Advocate BroMenn Medical Center in Normal, Ill., Advocate Eureka (Ill.) Hospital and their affiliated sites. "This transition is positive news for our patients, team members and physi- cians as it further supports our commitment to provide high quality, accessi- ble health care for the Central Illinois region," Colleen Kannaday, president of Advocate BroMenn Medical Center and Advocate Eureka Hospital, said in a news release. "Our relationship with Carle is built upon a strong foundation of successful clinical partnerships and we look forward to a seamless transition." Terms of the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, were not disclosed. The organizations expect the deal to close by mid-year 2020. n Emory, LifePoint form joint venture By Emily Rappleye L ifePoint Health is partially shifting ownership of St. Francis Hospital in Columbus, Ga., to Emory Healthcare through a new joint venture. LifePoint, based in Brentwood, Tenn., has owned St. Francis Hospital since 2016. Now under a newly formed joint venture between Emory and LifePoint, the two health systems will co-own the 376-bed facility. St. Francis has also worked with Atlanta-based Emory for years through var- ious clinical affiliations dating back to 2003. In 2017, St. Francis joined Emo- ry's Regional Affiliate Network, and last year, Columbus physicians were able to join Emory's clinically integrated network. St. Francis board chairman Philip Thayer called the new co-ownership "piv- otal" for the hospital. "LifePoint and Emory Healthcare have been vital con- tributors to our success over the last four years, allowing our talented physi- cians, clinicians and staff to focus on delivering high-quality care and service to our community," Mr. Thayer said. "This collaboration will allow us to build upon the momentum we have established and create new opportunities for us to improve the health of those we serve and strengthen the healthcare infrastructure throughout this region." n Steward Health Care closes sale of health plan By Morgan Haefner D allas-based Steward Health Care System divested its managed care plans to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona Jan. 2. BCBSAZ now owns Steward Health Choice Arizona, which covers Medicaid recipients and people who have dual eligibility for Medicare and Medicaid. The plans include Steward's Arizona Health Care Cost Contain- ment System Complete Care plan and its Generations Medicare health plan. BCBSAZ said it isn't planning any significant changes to the plans' opera- tions. The insurer said Health Choice's 200,000-plus members will have con- tinued access to more than 17,000 providers. n Ex-Cigna exec: I helped create the health insurance 'choice' talking point, and regret it By Morgan Haefner S ome presidential candidates argue that healthcare reforms like "Medicare for All" will limit consumers' choice when it comes to health plans. In an op-ed for e New York Times, a former communications leader with Cigna argues the "choice" talking point is a "P.R. concoction" that is inaccurate and a "political ploy." Five takeaways from the op-ed: 1. Many arguments against a single-payer overhaul of the current U.S. healthcare system center on the idea of choice. Policy advocates and defenders of the current system argue an approach like "Medicare for All" would restrict Americans' ability to choose their health plans or their physicians. 2. Wendell Potter, former vice president for corporate communications at Cigna, wrote in his op-ed that from his experience, the "choice" talking point was devised by the health insur- ance industry to shield itself from sweeping re- forms that could affect its profits. He said the framing boded well with focus groups of aver- age Americans and became frequent verbiage in the talking points he wrote for insurers. 3. However, Mr. Potter now calls the practice an "everlasting regret." He explained: "ose of us who held senior positions for the big insur- ers knew that one of the huge vulnerabilities of the system is its lack of choice. In the current system, Americans cannot, in fact, pick their own doctors, specialists or hospitals — at least, not without incurring huge out of network bills." 4. He also noted that most Americans who re- ceive health insurance coverage through their employer have a limited selection based on the contract their company sets with payers. 5. He concluded: "My advice to voters is that if politicians tell you they oppose reforming the healthcare system because they want to pre- serve your 'choice' as a consumer, they don't know what they're talking about or they're will- fully ignoring the truth. Either way, the insur- ance industry is delighted. I would know." n

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