Elevance Sues MDs For Winning, Steward Is Liquidating, Health Grows 2x Inflation Rate

Hey all,

Happy Thursday! I was supposed to be in Minneapolis for the SIIA High Cost Drug Forum but I was unable to make my flight. PSA: please remember your drivers license needs to be a ‘Real ID’ to board a plane. 

Enjoy the rundown! 

Jacob Brody (Co-Founder & CEO, ZorroRX)

(Fierce Healthcare) Elevance Sues Providers For Winning Too Often

Elevance Health is suing HaloMD and two Georgia provider groups for allegedly abusing the No Surprises Act’s arbitration system by submitting too many disputes, winning too often, and securing millions in payments the insurer claims were ineligible. The irony? Elevance and other insurers lobbied for this very framework—built around a payer-skewed benchmark and a binding arbitration process—yet now argue that successfully using it amounts to fraud and even racketeering. It’s a case where the rules only seem to apply until someone other than the payer starts winning by them. Full Article.

(Becker’s) Steward Health Care Bankruptcy

Federal officials are pushing to convert Steward Health Care’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy into Chapter 7 liquidation due to the company’s failure to pay $127 million in critical administrative claims. This move signals escalating concern over Steward’s financial instability, as the company attempts to sell or shutter its 31 hospitals while proposing a liquidation plan that excludes stockholders and former executives from protections, exposing them to potential lawsuits. Funny how the Affordable Care Act banned doctors from owning hospitals—because, you know, conflict of interest—but somehow forgot to include “private equity vultures”. Full Article

(Milliman) 2025 Medical Index Report

The 2025 Milliman Medical Index reveals that healthcare costs for a typical American family of four with employer-sponsored insurance have surged to $35,119, marking a $2,052 increase from 2024. This 20th-anniversary edition highlights that outpatient facility care and pharmacy expenses are the primary cost drivers, now accounting for 37% of total spending and reflecting broader shifts in healthcare delivery and drug pricing. With healthcare costs rising at an average annual rate of 6.1% since 2005—more than double the inflation rate—employers and families alike face mounting financial pressure, prompting calls for policy and plan design innovations. Full Article