Payer-provider negotiations leave Jersey Shore consumers in limbo; Wellmark BCBS expands ACO agreements in Iowa;

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> Consumers on the Jersey Shore--many of them enrolled in Medicare Advantage--have been in limbo as insurance carriers and healthcare providers wait until the 11th hour to negotiate new contracts, the Asbury Park Press reported. Most recently, it was Aetna and Barnabas Health. Before that, it was UnitedHealth and Meridian Health. Article

> Cigna CEO David Cordani made more than $27 million in 2014, according to the Hartford Courant. Nearly $24 million of that came from vested stock and exercised options. Article

> Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield has added four health systems to its growing body of accountable care organization partnerships in Iowa. All told, the insurer has 13 ACOs in the Hawkeye State, serving close to 525,000 Wellmark members. Statement

Health Leadership News

> The American College of Healthcare Executives kicked off its 2015 Congress in Chicago with a celebration of diverse healthcare leaders, a call for more progress in improving patient care and an update on the political climate in the nation's capital. Article

Health Finance News

> An adverse ruling against premium subsidies by the U.S. Supreme Court in the King v. Burwell case could nip at hospital finances in the 34 states that rely on the federal marketplace. Article

And finally … The chemistry of a pint o' Guinness. Chart