August 18, 2015

Today, in a domino tumbling of bad news for Delawareans, it was announced that Christiana Care would be leaving the state. The local medical facilities and clinics would go up for sale. In hours, AI Dupont announce it was leaving all health care organizations, and would only take privately funded patients. One hour later, BayHealth announced it was closing Kent General and Milford Memorial…

All cited Highmark as the reason. Highmark announced their plan to pay insurance claims only to their own doctors and hospitals. This freezes out all others, since most patients do not have an option but to take the employer’s offered medical plan. Since the first of August, over 90% of Delawareans have switched to Highmark.

This action was originally allowed in Delaware by Karen Weldin Stewart, the insurance commissioner in 2012 and was subsequently supported by ALEC legislator Patty Blevins currently head of the Senate… Neither could be reached for comment. Both are vacationing in the Grand Cayman Islands.