Becker's Hospital Review

32 CFO / FINANCE Hartford HealthCare, Anthem Break Leaves Tens of Thousands Out-Of-Network By Morgan Haefner H artford (Conn.) HealthCare is no longer in-net- work for Anthem members after failing to negoti- ate a new contract Sept. 30, according to a Hart- ford Courant report. Anthem spokesperson Sarah Yeager told the publica- tion: "After months of negotiations — which included mul- tiple offers by Anthem to increase HHC's reimbursement — HHC will not accept Anthem's offer." She added, "HHC is demanding three years of consecutive rate increases that are two to three times the rate of inflation each year. That is not acceptable to us and not acceptable or fair to our customers and members." However, Hartford HealthCare spokesperson Shawn Mawhiney told Hartford Courant the health system "al- ready has agreements with all major insurers, who un- derstand what being paid for quality healthcare requires. Anthem today is paying other providers more than it pays Hartford HealthCare." Both parties said they are willing to continue negotia- tions. Tens of thousands of Anthem members affected by the contract spat lost in-network access to the following Connecticut facilities: Hartford Hospital, the Hospital of Central Connecticut in New Britain, Midstate Medical Center in Meriden, Backus Hospital in Norwich, Wind- ham Hospital in Willimantic and the Institute of Living in Hartford. n Steward Health Care Becomes Private Hospital Operator of 36 Hospitals Following Iasis Acquisition By Alyssa Rege B oston-based Steward Health Care completed its ac- quisition of Iasis Healthcare, an 18-hospital system in Franklin, Tenn., Sept. 29. With the acquisition, Steward will become the largest pri- vate hospital operator in the nation, overseeing 36 hospitals across 10 states. Officials said the health system will experi- ence projected revenues of nearly $8 billion in 2018, the first full-year of the consolidated company. The 18 hospitals involved in the deal are located in Texas, Arizona, Utah, Arkansas, Colorado and Louisiana. The transaction was reportedly worth $1.9 billion, ac- cording to a previous report from The Wall Street Jour- nal. The organizations signed a definitive acquisition agreement in May. Following news of the deal, Iasis Healthcare President and CEO W. Carl Whitmer announced his decision to leave his posts at the health system Sept. 29. Mr. Whit- mer spent 17 years at the organization, according to The Tennessean. In a related transaction, Medical Properties Trust ac- quired the real estate interests of 10 Iasis acute care hos- pitals and one behavioral health facility, which Steward will operate. MPT also invested $100 million in Steward. n CMS' Proposal to Cancel Bundled Payment Models Draws Support From AHA By Ayla Ellison T he American Hospital Association generally supports CMS' proposal to cancel or scale back major bundled payment initiatives, AHA Executive Vice President Tom Nickels wrote in a letter sub- mitted to CMS on Oct. 10. CMS released a proposed rule in August that would cancel the mandatory bundled pay- ment program for heart attacks and bypass surgeries and the cardiac rehabilitation mod- el, which is intended to test whether a pay- ment incentive can increase the utilization of cardiac rehabilitative services. e proposal would also cancel mandatory bundling for hip and femur fracture treatment under the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement program and scale back the existing CJR model. Although hospitals generally support CMS' proposals, some have raised concerns. ere- fore, the AHA encouraged CMS to create new payment models. "We urge CMS to expeditiously pursue the creation of new, voluntary [alternative pay- ment models] that would allow hospitals to not only capitalize on the work many of them already have done to prepare for such mod- els, but also partner with clinicians to provide better quality, more efficient care," stated the AHA's letter to CMS. Under CMS' proposed rule, the CJR pro- gram would be mandatory for hospitals in 34 of the 67 geographic areas chosen for the program. e CJR model would continue on a voluntary basis in the other 33 geograph- ic areas. e proposed rule would also make participating in the CJR model voluntary for all low-volume and rural hospitals in the 67 areas, a move the AHA voiced support for in its letter to CMS. n

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