News Briefs
✦ CVS Health Corp. promoted Daniel Finke to executive vice president of its Health Care Benefits (HCB) Segment effective February 2021, succeeding Karen Lynch, who will become president and CEO of CVS at the same time. HCB includes Aetna and, according to a press release announcing the promotion, covers 34 million lives. According to the release, Finke has worked for Aetna since 2014, most recently leading the payer’s Commercial Business and Markets division, and previously “spent more than a decade at Anthem in various national executive roles.” Read more at https://bit.ly/2Izcij7.
✦ A Connecticut primary care practice has sued Cigna Corp. in federal court, alleging that the insurer wrongfully denied over $4.6 million in COVID-19 testing costs for over 4,400 patients. While the figures involved are relatively small for a national carrier, the suit could have substantial implications for the managed care industry if successful. According to Bloomberg Law, “the lawsuit is an early instance of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act being used in coronavirus coverage litigation,” and it cites new COVID-19 relief laws including the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Read the Bloomberg article at https://bit.ly/32FPCVo and the filing at https://bit.ly/38ExPBQ.
