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Bend the Insurance Cost Curve

Bend the Insurance Cost Curve

Frustrated by their annual wrangling over health care reimbursement rates, care provider Fairview Health Systems and insurer Medica decided to try something more collaborative. They didn’t know it two years ago, but they were forming one of the country’s first “accountable care organizations” or ACOs. The model they set up reduces costs for both organizations and it has national influence. But what is an ACO? And will employers get in on the savings, too?

2 Real Estate Professionals Plead Guilty in $4.2M Scheme

My Dinh Lam and Ashley Elizabeth Prasil each pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in conjunction a scheme to defraud mortgage lenders through the marketing of Cloud 9 Sky Flats development-a Minnetonka condo project of bankrupt St. Paul developer Jerry Trooien.

Artis REIT Continues Purchase Spree in MN

Artis Real Estate Investment Trust is purchasing an office building-605 Waterford Park-in Plymouth and a portfolio of five shopping centers in the Twin Cities for a combined $53.3 million.

Health Plans Must Justify Double-Digit Rate Hikes

A new rule, which stems from the 2010 health-care overhaul, states that any rate hikes of 10 percent or more must be reviewed by regulators. An association representing health plans says that focusing on premiums rather than the factors that drive medical costs won't benefit consumers.

Is There Some Flex in the Arden Hills Plan?

The Vikings are reportedly open to changes in their deal with Ramsey County, specifically regarding how the stadium would be operated. An unrelated media report examines the necessary cleanup-and its price tag-of the contaminated Arden Hills site.

Opus Corp. Quietly Settles Suit Filed by Subsidiary

The Star Tribune, citing "two people familiar with the case," said that the two parties settled last month for $45 million; Opus West had accused its parent company of siphoning tens of millions of dollars and causing its demise.