Shares of Anthem Inc. fell 1.1% in trading on Thursday after the health insurer said it would offer between a 10% and 50% one-time credit on monthly premiums to members as part of a total $2.5 billion financial assistance package during the COVID-19 pandemic. Auto insurers have also granted their customers refunds and credits as fewer people were driving as a result of stay-at-home orders.
The heads of Lifespan and Care New England -- Rhode Island's two largest hospital networks -- say they will resume merger talks. Negotiations between the two health care providers at the behest of Gov. Gina Raimondo collapsed last year. NBC 10's Gene Valicenti reported that regular appearances by the networks' two CEOs -- Dr. Timothy Babineau of Lifespan and Dr. James Fanale of CNE -- on his WPRO radio show apparently thawed a previously frosty relationship.
University Hospitals cut pay for more employees, citing increased costs and budget shortfalls caused by the pandemic. In a statement, the hospital said it is cutting doctors’ pay by 7 percent. Clinical leaders and doctors with administrative duties will see a 10 percent pay cut. University Hospitals had already reduced hours and cut pay for more than 4,000 employees in April.
As the coronavirus pandemic upended the U.S. health-care system, EmCare IAH Emergency Physicians, a Houston staffing company owned by private equity firm KKR, made a little-noticed request of the government: It applied for a $317,379 interest-free loan. KKR had for years paid lobbyists to fend off efforts to ban a practice known as surprise billing used by EmCare and other providers that has driven up the cost of health care.