The Tertiary Golden Handshake
Friday, October 29, 2021
Blue Cross Blue Shield has, inwards around respects, been a leader inwards Massachusetts inwards pursuing the agenda to curvature the wellness attention cost curve. But the fellowship has a blind spot when it comes to Partners Healthcare System. Worse, it has a history of caving to the economical interests of the dominant provider, fifty-fifty when doing as well as then undercuts the company's stated finish of bending the cost curve. It has at 1 time engaged inwards iii golden handshakes alongside the wellness attention system:
The get-go golden handshake occurred years ago, when BCBS acceded to Sam Thier's contention that, "This is what practiced wellness attention costs," as well as began a do of paying the arrangement above-market rates--for attention at the academic medical centers, for attention at the community hospitals, as well as for attention inwards the PHS doctors' offices. Every layer of the PHS arrangement received prices to a higher house the comparable layer of other hospitals. Year later twelvemonth later year. The Boston Globe's Thomas Farragher retold that story this week.
The second golden handshake occurred inwards 2011. It was spun past times BCBS every bit securing a renegotiation of PHS contracts, lowering the charge per unit of measurement of growth compared "to what would otherwise happen." But it was truly an above-market growth given to a arrangement alongside rates that were already substantially to a higher house the market.
The tertiary golden handshake occurred this week. In the facial expression upward of the close of import proposed anti-trust village of the decade, the 1 betwixt the Attorney General as well as Partners, the 1 on which dozens of parties convey filed comments alongside the Court, BCBS was silent. Absolutely silent.
The Massachusetts Association of Health Plans, representing all the other insurers inwards the state, filed comments against the deal. As noted inwards Priyanka Dayal McCluskey's Globe story:
The deal, insurers said, “could convey the unintended trial of exacerbating the marketplace dysfunction issues it seeks to address."
The highly noun (!) reply from Partners: “It’s no surprise that a lobbying grouping for the insurance companies has submitted comments that serve their ain self-interest."
BCBS, which has to a greater extent than subscribers than all of the residuum of MAHP combined, was missing inwards action.
Its actions over the years as well as its quiet at 1 time bring together it irrevocably alongside Partners every bit an advocate for higher wellness attention costs inwards Massachusetts.
The get-go golden handshake occurred years ago, when BCBS acceded to Sam Thier's contention that, "This is what practiced wellness attention costs," as well as began a do of paying the arrangement above-market rates--for attention at the academic medical centers, for attention at the community hospitals, as well as for attention inwards the PHS doctors' offices. Every layer of the PHS arrangement received prices to a higher house the comparable layer of other hospitals. Year later twelvemonth later year. The Boston Globe's Thomas Farragher retold that story this week.
The second golden handshake occurred inwards 2011. It was spun past times BCBS every bit securing a renegotiation of PHS contracts, lowering the charge per unit of measurement of growth compared "to what would otherwise happen." But it was truly an above-market growth given to a arrangement alongside rates that were already substantially to a higher house the market.
The tertiary golden handshake occurred this week. In the facial expression upward of the close of import proposed anti-trust village of the decade, the 1 betwixt the Attorney General as well as Partners, the 1 on which dozens of parties convey filed comments alongside the Court, BCBS was silent. Absolutely silent.
The Massachusetts Association of Health Plans, representing all the other insurers inwards the state, filed comments against the deal. As noted inwards Priyanka Dayal McCluskey's Globe story:
The deal, insurers said, “could convey the unintended trial of exacerbating the marketplace dysfunction issues it seeks to address."
The highly noun (!) reply from Partners: “It’s no surprise that a lobbying grouping for the insurance companies has submitted comments that serve their ain self-interest."
BCBS, which has to a greater extent than subscribers than all of the residuum of MAHP combined, was missing inwards action.
Its actions over the years as well as its quiet at 1 time bring together it irrevocably alongside Partners every bit an advocate for higher wellness attention costs inwards Massachusetts.