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posted by martyb on Saturday October 28 2017, @03:49AM   Printer-friendly
from the drug-money dept.

CVS, one of the largest pharmacies in the U.S., has made an offer to acquire the health insurer Aetna Inc.:

U.S. pharmacy operator CVS Health Corp has made an offer to acquire No. 3 U.S. health insurer Aetna Inc for more than $200 per share, or over $66 billion, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. A deal would merge one of the nation's largest pharmacy benefits managers and pharmacy operators with one of its oldest health insurers, whose far-reaching business ranges from employer healthcare to government plans nationwide.

[...] A tie-up with Aetna could give CVS more leverage in its price negotiations with drug makers. But it would also subject it to more antitrust scrutiny. The deal could also help counter pressure on CVS's stock following speculation that Amazon.com Inc is preparing to enter the drug prescription market, using its vast e-commerce platform to take market share from traditional pharmacies.

[...] The sources did not specify how much of CVS' bid is cash versus stock, but given CVS's and Aetna's market capitalizations of $77 billion and $54 billion, respectively, a substantial stock component is likely in any deal.

Also at NYT.

Related: Judge Finds That Aetna Misled the Public About its Reasons for Quitting Obamacare
$54 Billion Anthem-Cigna Health Insurer Merger Rejected by U.S. Judge
Health Insurer Aetna Accidentally Exposes Customers' HIV Statuses With Transparent Envelope Windows


Original Submission

Related Stories

Judge Finds That Aetna Misled the Public About its Reasons for Quitting Obamacare 54 comments

Aetna claimed this summer that it was pulling out of all but four of the 15 states where it was providing Obamacare individual insurance because of a business decision — it was simply losing too much money on the Obamacare exchanges.

Now a federal judge has ruled that that was a rank falsehood. In fact, says Judge John D. Bates, Aetna made its decision at least partially in response to a federal antitrust lawsuit blocking its proposed $37-billion merger with Humana. Aetna threatened federal officials with the pullout before the lawsuit was filed, and followed through on its threat once it was filed. Bates made the observations in the course of a ruling he issued Monday blocking the merger.

Aetna executives had moved heaven and earth to conceal their decision-making process from the court, in part by discussing the matter on the phone rather than in emails, and by shielding what did get put in writing with the cloak of attorney-client privilege, a practice Bates found came close to "malfeasance."

Source:

http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-aetna-obamacare-20170123-story.html

At what point does arbitrarily screwing with the healthcare of millions of people rise to the level of criminality?


Original Submission

$54 Billion Anthem-Cigna Health Insurer Merger Rejected by U.S. Judge 7 comments

Two recent health insurance mergers have been blocked by judges:

A federal judge on Wednesday ruled against U.S. health insurer Anthem Inc's proposed $54 billion merger with smaller rival Cigna Corp, derailing an unprecedented effort to consolidate the country's health insurance industry.

The U.S. Justice Department sued in July to stop Anthem's purchase of Cigna, a deal that would have created the largest U.S. health insurer by membership, and Aetna Inc's planned $33 billion acquisition of Humana.

On Wednesday, Judge Amy Berman Jackson of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued the ruling against Anthem's deal, saying that the merger would have worsened an already highly concentrated market and was likely to raise prices.

Last month, a different U.S. judge ruled against Aetna's proposed deal for Humana.

Government antitrust officials argued that both deals would lead to less competition and higher prices for Americans. The acquisitions would have reduced the number of large national U.S. insurers from five to three.

Also at Bloomberg, The Hill, and WSJ.


Original Submission

Health Insurer Aetna Accidentally Exposes Customers' HIV Statuses With Transparent Envelope Windows 39 comments

A health insurer has accidentally exposed the HIV status of some customers with letters that can be partially read through a clear piece of plastic:

Health insurance company Aetna "stunned" some of its customers last month when it accidentally made their HIV statuses visible from the outside of envelopes, two legal groups said Thursday. The letters, which contained information about changes in pharmacy benefits and access to HIV medications, were sent to about 12,000 customers across multiple states, Aetna confirmed in a statement.

For some of these customers, a plastic window on the envelope exposed not only the patient's name and address, but also a reference to filling prescriptions for HIV medications. This meant that whoever picked up the mail that day — a family member, a friend, a postal worker — would have been able to see the confidential information, according to the Legal Action Center and the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania. It is not known exactly how many customers were affected.

Attorneys from both legal groups wrote to Aetna on Thursday demanding that the company immediately stop sending customers mail that "illegally discloses that they are taking HIV medication." It also demanded that the insurer take necessary measures to make sure such a breach doesn't happen again.

The legal groups wrote on behalf of Aetna customers in Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia, according to their letter. The attorneys have so far received 23 complaints regarding the misstep, and more continue to come in, CNN reported.

The Legal Action Center and the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania provided this image of a Brooklyn, NY customer's letter, attached to their demand letter (PDF). The text reads: "Dear [REDACTED], The purpose of this letter is to advise you of options [...] Aetna health plan when filing prescriptions for HIV Medic [...] members can use a retail pharmacy or a mail order pharma".

Also at BBC, NPR, and STAT News.


Original Submission

Walmart Could Jump on the "Buy a Health Insurer" Trend with Humana Acquisition 25 comments

Walmart could acquire the health insurer Humana, in a deal reminiscent of CVS's acquisition of Aetna:

Walmart Inc. is in preliminary talks to buy insurer Humana Inc., according to people familiar with the matter, a deal that would mark a dramatic shift for the retail behemoth and the latest in a recent flurry of big deals in health-care services.

It isn't clear what terms the companies may be discussing, and there is no guarantee they will strike a deal. If they do, the deal would be big: Humana currently has a market value of about $37 billion. It also would be Walmart's largest deal by far, eclipsing its 1999 acquisition of the U.K.'s Asda Group PLC for $10.8 billion. Walmart, which in addition to being the world's biggest retailer is also a major drugstore operator, has a market value of about $260 billion.

[...] Walmart has a vast pharmacy business, with locations in most of its roughly 4,700 U.S. stores and in many of it Sam's Club warehouse locations. Humana is a Medicare-focused insurer that could deepen Walmart's relationship with a key demographic—seniors—at a time when the retailer is being threatened by Amazon on several fronts.

Also at CNN.

Related: $54 Billion Anthem-Cigna Health Insurer Merger Rejected by U.S. Judge
CVS Attempting $66 Billion Acquisition of Health Insurer Aetna
Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Chase to Offer Their Own Health Care to U.S. Employees
Is Amazon Planning a Disruptive AWS-Like Move Into Health Care?
Amazon Prime... For Medicaid Recipients


Original Submission

CVS Partners with Teladoc Health to Offer Virtual Clinic Appointments 6 comments

CVS dives deeper into medical services, offering virtual visits through Teladoc

CVS' MinuteClinics are going virtual. The drugstore chain plans to make video visits available nationwide by the end of the year through a partnership with Teladoc Health, CVS' latest pivot away from retail and toward health-care services. CVS already offers virtual appointments, branded as MinuteClinic Video Visits, in nine states and the District of Columbia.

MinuteClinics treat people with minor illness and injuries like coughs and rashes. These walk-in locations are a way to keep customers coming into CVS' stores as more shoppers buy everyday items on Amazon. Making it possible to visit a MinuteClinic without actually walking into one may hamper that, but it could help CVS reach more people.

With virtual visits, known in the industry as telehealth or telemedicine, CVS can reach people who may not be able to visit one of its roughly 1,100 locations. MinuteClinics are a key part of CVS' $69 billion acquisition of health insurer Aetna.

Also at USA Today.

Previously: CVS Attempting $66 Billion Acquisition of Health Insurer Aetna

Related: CVS Health Is Sued Over 'Clawbacks' of Prescription Drug Co-Pays
CVS Limits Opioid Prescriptions
Telemedicine Prescriptions Could Undermine State Abortion Restrictions


Original Submission

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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Saturday October 28 2017, @04:26AM (4 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday October 28 2017, @04:26AM (#588565) Journal

    I don't much like the idea of my pharmacy being my insurer. That Big Brother corporation will have far to much influence and control over your life.

    Hey - does anyone have any idea what happens when your employer becomes self insured? Suddenly, your boss can see inside of your life. The boss knows about any and all drug treatments you have had, psychiatric treatment, emotional problems, genetic problems, how many injuries you've ever had. Suppose that you were detoxxed for heroine, cocaine, or any other drug, the boss knows about it, because he has access to all your medical records.

    So, now the boss is your insurer, he can dictate which drugs you will be prescribed, the nature of your rehabilitation if/when it is needed, how expensive cures and treatments will be permitted - everything will be tied to your "worth" or "value" to the company.

    That is the kind of thing that the big corporations are shooting for. They want CONTROL.

    --
    “I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
    • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Saturday October 28 2017, @04:39AM (3 children)

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Saturday October 28 2017, @04:39AM (#588570) Journal

      They want CONTROL.

      They want profit above everything else. Control is just a mean to the end.

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Saturday October 28 2017, @09:55AM (2 children)

        by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday October 28 2017, @09:55AM (#588624) Journal

        Uhhh, yeah, sorta. Except, profit, or money, is the means to an end - that end being control. I suppose we could dive off the deep end, consult all the philosophers, and get some root definition of the concepts. But, money, in and of itself, has no value. Money's real value is that it purchases control over resources, assets, people, and even nations. At least, that's how I see it.

        --
        “I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
        • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Sunday October 29 2017, @03:03AM

          by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Sunday October 29 2017, @03:03AM (#588895) Journal

          Happens in politics lmost all the time, happens less in corporate (but it still happens).
          Many CEO-s are prepared from the start for the moment they'll be "parachuted", they know well it not an "if" it's a "when" - for them, money is the end, CEO-ing (and the power that comes with it) is the mean.

          --
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 29 2017, @07:32AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 29 2017, @07:32AM (#588965)

          You may want to check the fit of your tinfoil hat. These are publicly listed companies whose managements are answerable to share holders. Share holders want capital gain and dividends, and market, wider economic, and to a lesser degree political power in the hands of a company they have shares in is just another means to get that.

  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by c0lo on Saturday October 28 2017, @04:37AM (3 children)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Saturday October 28 2017, @04:37AM (#588568) Journal

    I'm sure there's no conflict of interest, no sir.
    They'll never use the knowledge of what medicine someone is prescribed with the insurance premium it charges.

    How the U.S. Pays 3 Times More for Drugs [scientificamerican.com]

    And why [economist.com]

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by realDonaldTrump on Saturday October 28 2017, @05:54AM (2 children)

      by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Saturday October 28 2017, @05:54AM (#588588) Homepage Journal

      What you want is called an HMO, a health maintenance organization. Kaiser Permanente is one of the greatest. Of which President Nixon was a big, big supporter. You put your insurance, your doctors, your pharmacy all under one roof. And the less doctoring, the less drugs, the more money you make. Tremendous money machine, very smart! But this isn't an HMO, CVS and Aetna doesn't make an HMO. They need the doctors too. They will need doctors. So look for a hospital chain to make it a threesome. Great time to pick up some hospital stocks! To guess which will be acquired to make it a threesome. And that one will SOAR. Believe me. Good luck. Good luck to everybody.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 28 2017, @12:54PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 28 2017, @12:54PM (#588660)

        Didn't one of the comedians say that HMO stands for "Have Money Or die"?

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 28 2017, @02:17PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 28 2017, @02:17PM (#588678)

          what, now you are saying Trump is a comedian? Tell me something I don't know already...

  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by crafoo on Saturday October 28 2017, @03:22PM (1 child)

    by crafoo (6639) on Saturday October 28 2017, @03:22PM (#588694)

    There are huge piles of money to be made in health insurance in the USA. The baby boomers are a huge, aging demographic. They made their name in large part by rejecting traditional way points through life, things that previous generations used to guide them and make sense of the human condition. Now they are lost, old, and afraid of death. That fear is being monetized. They will pay anything. They will give it all to insurance and healthcare corps.

    • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 28 2017, @05:58PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 28 2017, @05:58PM (#588735)

      > ...They will give it all to insurance and healthcare corps.

      Feel free to blame the ills of the healthcare system on boomers. Or you know, it could be that for the first time in history, doctors/healthcare actually does more good than damage. Starting sometime around the invention of working vaccines, antibiotics and so on, medicine started to actually work in useful ways. Thus demand has gone way, way up and availability is no longer limited to the royal physician.

      But there is a catch, it's expensive.

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