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Hey, Christiana Care and BayHealth! Here's Delaware in about two years ...

... when Highmark follows through with its current strategy of imposing a health insurance/health care monopoly.

This is what has happened to University of Pennsylvania Medical Centers after Highmark not only drove most competing urgent care clinics out of business, but then purchased its own hospital chain ...



That's right--documents filed with the state indicate that in order to make its own hospital chain viable, Highmark has to use its clout as the state's largest insurance company to drive 41,000 patients away from UPMC hospitals.

The situation is grave enough now in PA that even conservative Governor Tom Corbett has entered the fray:
Corbett further said he has directed the state's insurance and health departments to create a task force to monitor the Highmark and UPMC ads and "maintain the state's role in protecting consumers."
A task force to monitor Highmark's activities and protect consumers?

Here in Delaware we can't even get the Insurance Commissioner to respond to complaints that have already been filed by a local activist, a state senator, and an urgent care owner.

So my advice for the administrators running Christiana Care and BayHealth is to watch this video again, and realize it is only about two years until Highmark comes after you ...

Comments

Sid B. said…
This is what you get when government injects itself into the details of economic life. Adam Smith fairly foamed at the mouth about it. He called a Mercantilist system - a business/government mutual aid society. When government reaches its goal of complete control it's called Facism.
August 19, 2013 at 8:59 PM
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