In Brief: Centene Wins Medi-Cal Pact; Saint John\'s In Bidding War
Centene Wins Imperial County Medi-Cal Contract
A subsidiary of St. Louis-based Centene Corp. has been awarded a pact to manage 55,000 Medi-Cal managed care beneficiaries in Imperial County.
“Imperial County represents an important part of our expansion and long-term commitment to California,” said Jesse Hunter, executive vice president and chief business development officer for Centene. “Our national experience, coupled with the local knowledge and support of the Imperial County Board of Supervisors, will ensure California's Medi-Cal members receive locally delivered healthcare services of the highest quality.”
The value of the contract, which was awarded to the Centene subsidiary California Health and Wellness Plan, was not disclosed. Enrollment is expected to begin in the second half of 2013, Centene said.
The pact is part of California's plan to expand managed care enrollment in the Medi-Cal program to 18 rural counties.
Saint John’s Health Center In Bidding War
Saint John's Health Center is an apparent acquisition target amid a mounting bidding war among national hospital chains and a local healthcare entrepreneur.
According to a report in the Los Angeles Times earlier this week, UCLA Health, which already operates a hospital in Santa Monica, is bidding for the property along with Dignity Health and the St. Louis-based Ascenscion Health, the nation's largest Catholic hospital operator. Providence Health & Services, which operates several hospitals in Southern California, is also making a bid. And yet another bid has been made by Patrick Soon-Shiong, a healthcare entrepreneur and billionaire who has been one of St. John's biggest boosters and donors in recent years.
Saint John’s owner, Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health in Denver, began soliciting bids not long after a management and governance shakeup last November.
Health Premiums Remain Stable In Shadow Of ACA
A new survey by the Sunnyvale-based benefits research firm HealthPocket has concluded that despite the impending implementation of most components of the Affordable Care Act in January, health insurance premiums have barely nudged up.
According to HealthPocket, premiums nationally have increased an average of 1.2% between Feb. 1 and May 1, 2013. In California, the average premium increase has been 3%.
The data provided by HealthPocket tends to contradict the wisdom that premiums would increase by as much as 25% before the state health exchanges began enrolling individuals in October, with plans for coverage to begin on Jan. 1, 2014.
“We want to make sure that consumers have access to timely and unbiased cost information, not just the insurance companies and industry insiders,” said Bruce Telkamp, HealthPocket's chief executive officer. He added that company would continue to monitor premium increases.
