Last month another California hospital in Petaluma received a lone somewhat along the same lines with the purchase of their tax exempt bonds. The Capital Access Small Issuance Program division of United is paying the expenses for the loan which is stated to be at currently competitive rates. The loan will be pooled for the rural hospitals needing access to funds for IT updates. They are also giving a loan out to provide the money to do assessments to see what areas of IT are to be funded at each hospital and I am guessing teleheatlh is right up there since this is aimed at rural hospitals.
From the website:
“The Capital Access Small Issuance Program offers tax-exempt bond financing at interest rates often lower than those of conventional loans, maturity and term structure design flexibility, and a dedicated team of underwriters and program investment professionals that help streamline the overall financing process. Issuance costs are subsidized by UnitedHealth Group and PacifiCare of California through the current Grant Program.”
Petaluma Health Center Get Loan From United Health Group (Capital Access) Who Purchased Their Tax Exempt Bonds
I guess we hope everyone survives and makes the payments otherwise United could end up owning hospitals too. United also has a bank with over 1billion in deposits on premiums they collect from Health Savings Accounts.
UnitedHealth Group Owns a Bank With Deposits Surpassing a Billion – OptumHealth Bank FDIC Insured
From July of 2009 we had the hundred of millions United stated they would invest with Cisco for a national telehealth network. BD
UnitedHealth To Spend Tens of Million of Dollars with Cisco to Build Nationwide Telehealth Network
The investments come from UnitedHealth Group's 20-year, $200 million California Health Care Investment Program, which helps health care organizations in California access capital
UnitedHealth Group has announced it will invest $10 million to help California's Critical Access Hospitals improve their health information technology (IT) systems and adopt electronic health records.
California's Critical Access Hospitals are health care facilities with a maximum of 25 beds and located in a rural area at least 35 miles from another hospital, or a rural hospital that is 15 miles from another hospital in mountainous terrain or areas with only secondary roads.
The funds will be made available from UnitedHealth Group's California Health Care Investment Program, a 20-year, $200 million commitment to health care organizations that provide services to underserved, low-income and underinsured communities and populations throughout California.
UnitedHealth Group is also providing $200,000 in grants to the California State Rural Health Association (CSRHA) to assess IT needs at California's 31 Critical Access Hospitals. Once the assessments are completed, UnitedHealth Group, with input from CSRHA, will select the Critical Access Hospitals that will receive a total of $10 million in capital from UnitedHealth Group for health IT projects.