Two health-care giants, Cambia Health Solutions in Portland and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina in Durham, announced a partnership agreement on Tuesday that’s designed to save money and spur innovation.
Cambia Health Solutions is keeping mum about how much was spent to launch its latest subsidiary which has been closed down, Engima Health, which was intended to help physicians diagnose mysterious symptoms such as headaches and originally called Muse.
Cambia Health Solutions has decided to shutter its mobile health payment-focused startup, Wellero just a little more than two years after launching in fall 2013.
February 22, 2013 -- A former medical director at Cambia Health Solutions has filed a $3 million lawsuit in Multnomah County Circuit Court, alleging he was abruptly fired without cause and is requesting a jury trial.
December 11, 2012 -- Regence BlueShield and its parent company Cambia Health Solutions made sloppy mistakes in their reporting practices, sometimes to the tune of millions of dollars, according to a Lund Report review of the insurer’s most recent Washington state financial exam. The examination was completed earlier this year and covers the insurer’s work through the end of 2010. Regence BlueShield is the Washington subsidiary of Portland-based Cambia, which also owns Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon and Blues plans in Utah and Idaho.
October 25, 2012 -- It seemed like a good idea at the time. With healthcare costs rising, insurance plans from across the Northwest thought they might be able to save money by sharing resources. By 1997, Oregon’s BlueCross BlueShield had merged with BlueShield of Washington and other “Blues” plans from Utah and Idaho to become The Regence Group. Headquartered in downtown Portland, soon the new company had set its tech team to work at integrating its multiple lines of business.
September 6, 2012 -- A consumer-driven insurance plan is gathering momentum in Oregon. Not only will people have a chance to help design this new plan, they can also have a seat on its governing board.
“This is a health plan with a conscience,” said Dr. Ralph Prows, CEO of Oregon’s Health CO-OP. “Our purpose and mission is to keep our costs down. We have to start keeping healthcare affordable and intend to have the lowest administrative costs of any health plan. We’re trying to do the right thing and are not interested in making a profit.”
