There's a couple of things on the docket for this week. To start with, the House will likely approve the Boehner lawsuit against Obama, which targets presidential "over-stepping" on healthcare issues. As we have previously reported, the suit debates whether President Obama's delay of the employer mandate was within his constitutional bounds. As a refresher, the administration pushed back the mandate by a year in July 2013, and in January of this year, gave businesses with between 50 and 99 employees another year on top of that to comply.
On Thursday, the House Rules Committee approved a resolution authorizing the lawsuit. The suit is likely to hit the House floor this week before law-makers leave town for a five-week recess, and it is expected that it will be approved.
If you want to catch up, check out Healthcare Dive's coverage of the implications of the suit.
In other news, Highmark is scheduled this week to submit a formal transition plan for its separation from University of Pittsburgh Medical Center January 1. (Pittsburgh-based Highmark is western Pennsylvania's dominant health insurer, and UPMC is the dominant health system.) UPMC has said that starting January 1, it will no longer accept Highmark products in the wake of Highmark's acquisition of a competing health system. The state-brokered end-of-contract was agreed upon last month, but concerns remain for consumers who may suddenly find their physicians are out-of-network.
The Highmark-UPMC story is a tale of vertical integration in the new world of value-based healthcare, and could provide a narrative for the development of health systems across the country under the ACA. Check out this story on the risks of insurer-hospital integration.
Finally, there's one thing that will not be happening: The major strike of 70,000 New York nurses and caregivers, scheduled for July 31. Members of 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East have a new four-year working contract.
Meanwhile, this week on Healthcare Dive...
This week, Healthcare Dive takes a deeper look into Cleveland Clinic and Mayo's hospital affiliates.
At first glance, Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic offer similar advantages to their dozens of community-hospital affiliates across the U.S. Both are expanding their affiliate networks, but neither anticipates unrestricted growth. But digging a little deeper, it becomes clear that each has its own strategies and aims for affiliates.
Healthcare Dive asks, are "premium brand" affiliations just a fad or are they here to stay? Are major academic institutions likely to lead the way toward national integration of acute-care delivery?
Look for our deep-dive this week.
Want to know more?
- The Hill reports on the House panel's approval of the Boehner suit.
- Navigating the Pennsylvania health insurance scene is a minefield for Highmark members, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- The Latin Post reports on the averted strike in New York.