UnitedHealth Group Inc., which bought Cypress-based PacifiCare Health Systems for more than $9 billion back in 2005, is getting some regulatory heat over another acquisition.
The American Medical Association is protesting Minnesota-based United’s $2.6 billion buy of Sierra Health Services Inc. Regulators in three states, including California, already have cleared United’s buy of Sierra, which is based in Las Vegas and would fall under UnitedHealth in Cypress.
William Plested, the medical association’s past president, asked the House Committee on Small Business to urge the Justice Department to block the deal. Plested told lawmakers that the deal is part of a trend that will lead to a few big companies “that operate in the interest of shareholders rather than patients.”
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UnitedHealh’s Cypress office: Sierra buy would fall under |
A United-Sierra deal would “drastically” reduce competition, Plested told the committee, because United would end up with 94% of the market in Las Vegas, home to most of Nevada’s population. He argued that the result could be a health insurer that is able to raise prices and reduce quality without fear of meaningful competitive responses.
Peter O’Neill, a Sierra spokesman, said in late October in published reports that discussions involving Sierra, United and the Justice Department were likely to continue for several weeks and that the companies are cooperating with requests for information by Nevada’s attorney general, Catherine Cortez Masto.
Masto still could intervene in the deal
and could go to state or federal court if she determines there is an antitrust violation.
In other United news, some of its executives recently testified in front of the House Ways and Means Committee during a
hearing on oversight of Medicare Advantage, the privately run government health benefit for seniors that’s centered on managed care, Investor’s Business Daily reported.
Medicare Advantage’s been criticized for overpaying healthcare providers,the story mentioned a General Accounting Office report that showed $34 million in overpayments in 2003.
The hearing unearthed no specific wrongdoing, according to the story.
Overall, United has had a lackluster year,its shares are flat for the year with a market value of $65 billion.
But an article on the Motley Fool Web site said better days should be ahead for investors who have the patience to ride out the current lull, “thanks to the approach
the company’s management team has implemented.”
UCI: Stem Cells Improve Memory
University of California, Irvine researchers said they’ve found that neural stem cells may help to restore memory after brain damage.
Frank LaFerla, a professor of neurobiology and behavior, and his colleagues injected
laboratory mice each with about 200,000 stem cells that were derived from the hippocampus, an area in the brain that’s vital to memory and where neurons often die.
The researchers found that injured mice that received the treatment remembered about 70% of their surroundings, the same as healthy mice.
Those mice that didn’t receive the treatment still had memory impairments.
“Our research provides clear evidence that stem cells can reverse memory loss,” LaFerla said in a release.
The findings, LaFerla said, give hope that stem cells could someday help restore brain function in humans who suffer from a wide range of diseases and injuries that impair their memory functions.
Study results appeared in the Oct. 31 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience. The National Institute on Aging, the National Institutes of Health and a California Institute for Regenerative Medicine postdoctoral scholar award funded it.
Valeant Settles Patent Dispute
Barr Laboratories Inc. of Woodcliff Lake, N.J., and New York-based Par Pharmaceutical Cos., a pair of generic drug makers, settled a patent dispute with Aliso Viejo-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals International over Diastat, an at-home treatment for epileptic seizures.
Valeant holds the patent for Diastat, a gel suppository. Under the deal, Barr will have the right to launch a generic version of Diastat and Diastat AcuDial on or after Sept. 1, 2010. Barr is going to record the sales and split profits with Par.
Kali Laboratories Inc., which Par has since acquired, and Pliva Inc., which is now part of Barr, initiated the patent issue against Valeant.
Diastat and Diastat AcuDial are sizable products for Valeant. The drugs had combined sales of $75 million for the 12 months ended in August, according to sales data from market tracker IMS Health Inc.
Bits and Pieces:
CNS Response Inc. of Costa Mesa bought Neuro-Therapy Clinic PC, a Denver-area psychiatric practice, for an undisclosed price. CNS Response is working on commercializing what it calls “the first patented commercial system that guides psychiatrists and other physicians to determine proper treatments for patients with behavioral disorders” Valens Medical, a medical weight loss practice operated by what’s called certified physician nutrition specialists, opened a location in Irvine. Doctors who have that designation undergo nutrition training in addition to categorical medical residency training National HealthCare Alliance Inc. of Irvine said it’s filed to change its name and stock symbol on the Pink Sheets exchange because it’s no longer in the healthcare industry. National HealthCare was bought earlier this year by the Berman Marketing Group Inc., a marketing company.
