STATE EXPANDS ACCESS FOR DUALLY ELIGIBLE BENEFICIARIES: A program that provides health insurance to Illinoisans who are dually eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid is expanding statewide next month.

Currently available in about 20 counties, the government-run Medicare-Medicaid Alignment Initiative, or MMAI, program will be rolling out to all 102 counties in phases starting July 1. (The expansion was originally set for January, but the effort was delayed due to the COVID-19 public health emergency.)

The program aims to improve health outcomes, partly through the use of coordinators that help enrollees access and manage their medical care.

Currently, 61,597 beneficiaries are enrolled in one of five MMAI plans operating in the state.

Aetna Better Health of Illinois—which has roughly 9,300 members, or 15 percent of the market—so far is the only plan approved to operate in all 102 counties, said Corey Taliaferro, the health plan’s executive director. Membership in the Aetna plan could double as a result of the expansion, Taliaferro said, noting that the state expects a total of 60,000 additional beneficiaries to join the program.

A Cook County Health-run MMAI plan, open only to residents in Cook County, is expected to participate in the program next year, according to the state.

CHICAGO’S TOP DOC IS ‘VERY CONFIDENT’ AS THE CITY REOPENS: As the city of Chicago fully reopens, it’s reporting an average of 79 new cases each day, down from 135 last week. And the average daily positivity rate is 1.4 percent, down from 1.9 percent. At the same time, 45 percent of the city’s population is fully vaccinated and 53 percent of residents have gotten at least a first dose.

Asked whether the city expects a surge in coronavirus cases after moving to the final phase of its reopening plan on June 11, Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said she feels “very confident” about the next few weeks.

With more people out and about during the bridge phase, it has “been an opportunity to turn that dial, make sure things stay in control and are heading the right way,” Arwady said Thursday. “So I’m not concerned in the short term about a major surge of COVID. Certainly I’m concerned about people who are not yet vaccinated. They remain at risk, but the risk is lower.”

NORTHSHORE WILL CENTRALIZE CARDIAC CARE AT GLENBROOK: NorthShore will discontinue open heart surgery at Evanston Hospital and cardiac catheterization at Skokie Hospital as the system looks to centralize cardiovascular services at Glenbrook Hospital. 

Expanding capacity at Glenbrook will cost an estimated $170 million, according to an application filed with the state. The Evanston and Skokie hospitals will still provide emergency cardiac catheterization services.

NorthShore has embraced specialization across its hospitals. By centralizing services like cardiology and obstetrics at high-traffic facilities, many hospital chains aim to improve care and save money on surgical equipment, space and staff.

TRANSCARENT RAISES ANOTHER $58M TO DISRUPT EMPLOYER-SPONSORED CARE: Glen Tullman’s newest startup Transcarent has raised $58 million, attracting new funding from heavyweights such as Merck, Bayer and Kleiner Perkins. 

Transcarent picks up where Tullman’s most recent company, Livongo, left off: It’s essentially a digital healthcare concierge service for self-insured companies, helping their employees get the most bang for their healthcare dollars. The app can help employees connect with a doctor via text message, schedule an in-person appointment, request a prescription, find in-home treatment options or even figure out the hospitals that have highest success rates for a particular type of care. READ MORE.

COUNTY-RUN HOSPITAL OPENS NEW DIALYSIS CENTER: Cook County Health has opened a $3.4 million dialysis center at Provident Hospital on the South Side.

“This dialysis center is one part of Cook County Health’s ongoing effort to bring care to our residents in need, into the communities where they live,” Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday.

The 12-chair, 6,600-square-foot center was needed to meet demand for dialysis in the area.An estimated 15,000 people in Cook County suffer from kidney failure, which can result from high blood pressure, diabetes and other medical conditions that disproportionately impact black and brown people, Preckwinkle said.

Each year, about 150 additional Cook County Health patients need treatment for end-stage renal disease, hospital system CEO Israel Rocha said during the event on Thursday, noting that the system previously had to send about 80 percent of those patients to other clinics, due to limited capacity.

ADVOCATE AURORA PHARMACIST WHO TAMPERED WITH VACCINES SENTENCED: The Wisconsin pharmacist who pleaded guilty to attempting to spoil more than 500 COVID-19 doses was sentenced to three years in prison.

Steven R. Brandenburg, 46, purposefully removed a box of COVID-19 vaccine vials manufactured by Moderna from hospital refrigeration during two successive overnight shifts in late December 2020 because he was skeptical of vaccines in general and the Moderna vaccine specifically. Brandenburg was also ordered to pay nearly $84,000 in restitution to the Aurora Medical Center in Grafton, Wisconsin. 

HEALTH SYSTEMS COMMIT TO WORK WITH DIVERSE SUPPLIERS: Advocate Aurora Health, Rush University Medical Center System and CommonSpirit Health are among 12 health systems committing to spending at least $1 billion on minority and women-owned suppliers over the next five years. 

The “Impact Purchasing Commitment” plan was designed by the Healthcare Anchor Network, in partnership with Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth, a statement from the groups said. Institutions also agree to work with at least two of their large existing vendors to create hiring pipelines in disinvested communities.

“Supporting minority and women-owned businesses through our local supply chain purchasing efforts is an important step to address health inequities,” Advocate Aurora Health president and CEO Jim Skogsbergh said in the statement. “We know job creation and giving people access to good paying jobs helps improve their health and well-being.”

The health systems adopting the Impact Purchasing Commitment include: Advocate Aurora Health, Baystate Health, Bon Secours Mercy Health, Cleveland Clinic, CommonSpirit Health, Henry Ford Health System, Intermountain Healthcare, Kaiser Permanente, Providence, Rush University Medical Center, Spectrum Health, and UMass Memorial Health.

UNITEDHEALTHCARE BACKS DOWN ON EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT POLICY: Following backlash, UnitedHealthcare on Thursday said it will delay implementing its new policy that would retroactively deny patients’ claims of emergency department visits that are considered non-emergent.

The insurer planned to start reviewing its approximately 26.3 million commercial patient ED visits more carefully starting July 1, reviewing their initial reason for visiting the ED, the diagnostic and other services provided during the visit and the outcome of the experience, when deciding whether to approve—or deny—patient claims. The announcement prompted criticism from organizations including the Chicago-based American Hospital Association, who say it could deter patients from going to the emergency department, a dangerous outcome during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nathan Seth Trueger, emergency physician at Northwestern Medicine, said while it is great that the backlash has caused UnitedHealthcare to pause its policy, the message has gotten out and patients will likely still be unsure about seeking emergency care. Read more in Modern Healthcare.

STATE EXPANDS SHIELD COVID TESTING TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS: Illinois elementary schools will be able to access the COVID-19 saliva test developed by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign at little or no cost. 

The Illinois Department of Public Health will offer the test for free to low-income schools and for $10 to all other institutions. 

Last month, IDPH expanded covidSHIELD testing to middle and high schools across Illinois outside the city of Chicago.

WALGREENS TO EXTEND VACCINATION HOURS FOR MONTH-LONG PUSH FOR SHOTS: Deerfield-based Walgreens will extend walk-in vaccination hours at 4,000 pharmacy locations nationwide today, in addition to June 18 and 25. The move is part of the Biden Administration’s National Month of Action to help meet the president’s July 4 goal of having more than 70 percent of adults receiving at least one COVID-19 shot, Walgreens said in a statement.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

• Raymond Grady, former CEO of  NorthShore University HealthSystem’s Evanston Hospital, has joined the Chicago firm Juniper Advisory. Grady most recently was CEO of Methodist Hospitals in Northwest Indiana and previously served as chief administrative officer at  Aurora Health Care in Milwaukee, now part of Advocate Aurora Health. He served on the boards of the American Hospital Association, the Illinois and Indiana hospital associations and the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education.

• Jason Parrott has joined Vida Health as senior vice president of Enterprise Growth and Partnerships. He will work from Chicago for the San Francisco-based virtual care company, Vida said in a statement. Parrott previously served as senior leader of Healthcare & Well Being Strategy for the Chicago-based Boeing, which was a Vida client.