State regulators are reviewing an application by UnitedHealth Group to purchase The Corvallis Clinic.
You may recall that Samaritan Health terminated its contract with United Healthcare for what amounted to nonpayment last year. Notably, UnitedHealth and United Healthcare hail from the same conglomerate, which has been buying medical practices nationwide, three of them in Oregon.
According the Lund Report, which covers Oregon’s healthcare industry, “The proposal comes at a time when UnitedHealth’s size and practices increasingly have made it a magnet for criticism. Ranked by Fortune magazine as the 10th largest company in the world, it reportedly employs or is affiliated with about 10 percent of all physicians in the United States. The parent company faces lawsuits for, among other things, allegedly charging ‘unconscionable’ fees blamed for putting independent pharmacies out of business. It’s recently been the subject of a series of articles in STAT, a top health care industry news publication, for allegedly using a secret algorithm to cut off care for sick and elderly patients in rehab.”
According to the exhaustive deep-dive on the deal from Lund, pandemic losses may have severely weakened The Corvallis Clinic’s finances, which would motivate them to want to sell.
For interested readers, we strongly recommend you read the piece in the Lund Report, and you can click here to do that.
Public comments can be submitted to state regulators by Jan. 18. Email hcmo.info@oha.oregon.gov and include the word “Optum” in your message. Optum is also owned by United Healthcare, and it’s the company they use for these acquisitions.
Cornel West Comes to Corvallis, Jan 22
Dr. Cornel West joins Dr. Robert George in a conversation focused on the role of higher education in restoring civic dialogue.
The talk addresses the urgent need for universities to lead the way in reviving the art of civil discourse in a society increasingly characterized by division and confrontation.
Co-sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the College of Business, the university says, “As bastions of diverse ideas and critical thinking, universities have a unique responsibility to model and facilitate conversations that not only respect differences but also bridge them.”
West and George, for instance, celebrate their dynamic partnership despite contrasting ideologies.
During this event, both will share insights on how higher education can cultivate a culture where challenging discussions are conducted with empathy, respect, and a shared pursuit of truth, thereby reinforcing the foundations of a vibrant democratic society.
This event is slated for Monday, January 22 from 7 to 8:30 pm, at the LaSells Stewart Center. It’s free and open to the public and will be live-streamed on live.oregonstate.edu for those who are unable to attend in person. Register Here
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