Rhode Island hospital group Care New England has reached an out-of-court settlement with Christopher Koller, the state health insurance commissioner, according to a Providence Journal report.
CNE, which oversees three hospitals, filed a lawsuit over Mr. Koller’s new insurance rules earlier this month, seeking to block his rules and saying they were an impediment to negotiations with UnitedHealthcare of New England.
In a statement released on Monday, CNE said Mr. Koller agreed that his rules would not be applicable to the negotiations and any contracts between CNE and UnitedHealthCare, according to the report. Mr. Koller withdrew the rules only as they apply to the current round of negotiations between the two organizations.
Mr. Koller approved rate increases for the three major health insurers last July. He required health insurers’ new contracts to meet six conditions that are intended to change the hospital-finance system to reward quality care is instead of the number of services provided. The rules also require hospitals to agree to a cap on price increases.
Read the Providence Journal report on the settlement between Care New England and Rhode Island’s health insurance commissioner.
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