WellPoint helps Delaware lower Medicaid costs; Highmark refuses contract with new UPMC hospital;

> WellPoint, along with AstraZeneca, is collaborating with Delaware to find ways to stifle escalating Medicaid costs, reported Fox Business. Under a multi-year agreement, Delaware will contribute its Medicaid participants' claims data, which WellPoint and AstraZeneca will mine for ways to improve care and cut costs. Delaware's top priorities include reducing unneeded emergency department visits and determining why babies treated in hospital intensive-care units often are readmitted. Article

> Highmark won't agree to a one-year contract with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's new hospital because the provider refuses to negotiate contracts covering its network of hospitals and doctors, reported the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "We don't think talking about one facility makes any sense without a long-term contract," said Highmark Vice President Deborah Rice. Without a contract, Highmark members will have to pay out-of-network costs to use UPMC East when it opens in July. Article

> The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services is giving $229 million in federal grant money to 10 states to help them establish health insurance exchanges, EmaxHealth reported. The grants are intended to soften the blow from some of the set-up costs. Article

> And Finally... Can high fashion jeopardize your health? Article