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Kaiser Permanente Acquires Geisinger Health in $5B Mega-Deal

In one of the largest healthcare deals to date, Kaiser Permanente is acquiring Pennsylvania-based Geisinger Health and investing $5 billion to fold it into a new nonprofit subsidiary called Risant Health, which is set to purchase additional medical groups in coming years. While regulators still must review this initial acquisition, the marriage of Kaiser and Geisinger would create a behemoth with more than $100 billion in annual revenue — 95% of it coming from the Kaiser side of the equation. Like Kaiser, Geisinger both owns hospitals — 10 of them — and operates its own health insurance program. Unlike California-based…
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Here’s what’s in the bill that spurred the latest Republican walkout from the Oregon Senate

Republicans walked out of the Oregon Senate this week in large part to avoid a vote on a reproductive health care bill that passed the House on Monday. The bill passed despite delay tactics in the House and 6 hours of floor debate. OPB covered that debate and the contents of the bill on Tuesday, publishing a story shortly before the walkout commenced. Below is the short version of that story — just four main things to know about the bill that caused Republican state senators to walk out of the statehouse again. State senate in session at the Oregon…
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Masking requirements set to lift in most Manitoba health-care settings – Winnipeg

By The Staff The Canadian Press Posted May 3, 2023 3:49 pm Updated May 3, 2023 6:51 pm Descrease article font size Increase article font size Most of the masking requirements implemented at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic for health-care facilities in Manitoba are set to be lifted next week. Shared Health, which co-ordinates many health services in the province, says the change will apply to most visitors and patients who are going into acute and long-term care settings. Monika Warren, the chief operating officer of provincially coordinated health services at Shared Health, says the changes in masking requirements…
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Unlicensed health insurer fined, ordered to stop operations in Minnesota

(FOX 9) – A health insurance company based in Texas, but operating in Minnesota, has been fined and ordered to stop selling unlicensed insurance policies in Minnesota. Salvasen Health, its owner Barry Glenn, and multiple affiliates have been fined $553,000 by the Minnesota Department of Commerce (DOC) and ordered to stop their operations in Minnesota, the DOC said in an announcement Wednesday. According to the department, Salvasen and affiliates were not licensed in Minnesota to sell health insurance plans but sold unapproved health plans to Minnesota consumers regardless. The DOC provides regulatory oversight of insurance for Minnesota and initially acted…
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Federal dental plan could lead employers to drop coverage: assoc

OTTAWA – An association of health insurance providers warns it might not be useful for small businesses to provide dental benefits to some employees once the government launches a national dental-care plan. The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association has pitched the idea of ​​a federal tax credit for small businesses to convince them not to drop their coverage. “When governments provide free coverage for any type of benefit, employers will naturally ask if they should continue to pay for those or whether their employees would be as well-served ΓǪ moving to the public plan,” said association president Stephen Frank.…
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Opinion: Canadians are the biggest losers in the Supreme Court’s latest health care decision

It was 18 years ago that the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that waitlists for health care in Quebec were an affront to a patient’s constitutional rights – opening the door to private health insurance in the province. Which is why the court’s decision last week not to hear an appeal of a BC Court ruling, which bans extra-billing and private insurance, is so puzzling. And infuriating. Because not much has changed in the nearly two-decade-long span since its landmark decision on this matter. In fact, it could be argued, the situation has deteriorated even further, with the crisis in…