List date(s) this work was published or aired.
7/1/2011
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
Insurers, struggling with a recession that bit into enrollment and a new health law that threatened to crimp profits, are trying to curb rising costs by acquiring and operating physician practices.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
The story was built on state, local and federal government data that was obtained either through informal requests to agencies, formal state-level public information requests, and sources in government agencies and private companies. Documents used include business entity filings detailing the formation of new corporations, mergers and dissolutions; reports filed with state insurance commissioners; medical board registrations showing physicians’ movement between practices; health plans’ filings with the California Department of Managed Health Care; proprietary data provided by private business research firms.
Explain types of human sources used.
Beyond the insurance executives and policymakers that shaped the story, there’s a cast of consultants, investment bankers, transaction attorneys, local lobbyists and other operatives that put corporate strategy into action, and helped fill in the details. Also critical were the local competition–doctors, hospitals and rival health plans that parsed the thinking of the much larger companies they were negotiating contracts or vying with for patients. Also, documents obtained from third parties helped coax companies to speak candidly about their strategic deliberations.
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
No.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Managed-care as a sector is filled with giant companies. But, most of its business dealings are local–in many markets, the companies still contract with doctors one at a time. Their strategies will often play out at the local level first, riling the folks who negotiate hospital contracts or run medical practices. Talking to those people is a great start, even if you’re looking for a national story.