After warning for months that the cost of Obamacare health plans would be higher next year, Pennsylvania regulators delivered the final numbers this week. The
Geisinger and the former Evangelical Community Hospital have agreed to pay $28.5 million to settle claims they forged a secret agreement not to poach each other’s workers, allegedly stifling competition in the labor market and depressing wages. Danville-based Geisinger, now owned by Kaiser Permanente, is paying $19 million, while Lewisburg-based Evangelical, now part of WellSpan Health, is paying $9.5 […]
Health insurers are asking for double-digit rate hikes for plans sold in Pennsylvania on the market created by the Affordable Care Act. State insurance regulators said Friday that insurers are proposing average premium increases of 19% for individual plans and 13% for small-business plans in 2026. Officials warned in June that hikes were coming as part […]
Negotiators from WellSpan Health and a union representing workers at a Chambersburg hospital are set to meet today ahead of a deadline for reaching a new labor agreement. If the talks conclude with no deal, the union said Friday it will hold a vote tomorrow that could pave the way for a strike by roughly 1,450 workers […]
Health insurers covering tens of thousands of people in Central Pennsylvania have joined a national effort to reform practices that critics blame for blocking access to medical care. That would be the need for prior authorization, which involves securing approval from a health insurer before getting treatment. Insurers have been working over the years to […]
Contract talks are underway between WellSpan Health and a union representing workers at WellSpan Chambersburg, one of the health system’s hospitals in Franklin County. The two sides have been negotiating a new labor contract to replace one set to expire at the end of this month. Wages are a major issue for the union, SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, […]
State insurance regulators are joining other observers warning about higher costs next year for the tens of thousands of Pennsylvania residents who buy health insurance in the market created by the Affordable Care Act. Insurers have begun to propose premiums for ACA plans next year and the Pennsylvania Insurance Department said yesterday that insurers are […]
Enhanced federal tax credits help Pennsylvanians afford private health insurance in the market established more than a decade ago by the Affordable Care Act, or ACA. But the enhanced credits are slated to expire at the end of this year if the U.S. Congress does not extend them. If the credits lapse, the average Pennsylvanian […]
Weis Markets, whose pharmacy business has been growing by double digits, is making a play for pieces of Rite Aid. Legal filings in the Rite Aid bankruptcy case reveal that Sunbury-based Weis is among those bidding for the pharmacy chain’s assets. A Weis spokesperson declined to comment, and legal filings offer no details. But Weis joins […]
Gov. Josh Shapiro and allied lawmakers are taking aim at the role of private equity in healthcare, arguing there is a need for action after the fallout from hospital closures in suburban Philadelphia. They are pushing legislation that would give state officials greater say over deals between nonprofit healthcare providers and all for-profit buyers, not […]