Updated 10:54 a.m.

LEWISTON — Central Maine Healthcare’s CEO has apologized to employees for the way it handled conflict-of-interest issues surrounding Edumedics, a private health-monitoring company that workers must use if they want to avoid higher insurance premiums.

That company was started by a top Central Maine Healthcare official who runs it with his wife.

But while CEO Peter Chalke apologized to workers in a letter, nothing has changed in the health system’s plan for Edumedics. About 1,000 employees and their adult family members must sign up with the Kentucky-based company or pay $60 a month more for insurance.

A national expert in medical ethics has said the requirement is akin to extortion.

Central Maine Healthcare spokesman Chuck Gill acknowledged Thursday that a letter was sent to employees and said “a considerable amount of time and effort was spent in writing” it.

“The letter speaks for itself and there really is nothing more we can add,” Gill said in an email.

However, he declined to provide a copy of the letter.

Employees shared the two-page letter with the Sun Journal. It was dated Nov. 7, about a week after the Sun Journal published a story on the health system and Edumedics.

In the letter, Chalke said the health system “failed to effectively communicate what steps had been taken to mitigate the potential conflict of interest.” He emphasized that the official — Central Maine Medical Group President Richard Goldstein — was not involved in the selection of Edumedics, and his wife, Edumedics Vice President of Operations Gisela Wright, did not negotiate or sign the agreement between Edumedics and Central Maine Healthcare. 

Chalke said health system leaders spoke with legal counsel about the potential for conflict of interest and were told the arrangement was acceptable and legal with certain safeguards. He said Goldstein’s position with Edumedics was disclosed to health system management and provider leadership, but he said that was not enough. 

“In retrospect, this degree of transparency was not sufficient to ensure that all employees were aware of this decision and understood how and why it was made,” he said in the letter.

He said Central Maine Healthcare’s use of Edumedics is necessary to keep health insurance costs down.

Starting Jan. 1, workers and their adult family members must sign up with Edumedics if they use the system’s health insurance and have diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol. If they don’t join Edumedics, they will be required to pay an additional $60 a month for health insurance. 

About 2,000 workers and 1,000 family members participate in the system’s health insurance program and its wellness offshoot, Healthy Decisions. Officials have said just under 1,000 of those people have been identified as having at least one of the three chronic conditions being monitored by Edumedics. Officials have said it’s likely that additional people will be identified through screenings.

Those who sign up with Edumedics must agree to an initial physical and a full medical history by an Edumedics nurse practitioner, as well as lab work, done during participants’ off-hours. Depending on how well-controlled their condition is, participants may be required to meet with the nurse for follow-up visits and additional tests during their off-hours.

Central Maine Healthcare has said there is no charge for the required lab work, nurse visits or medications to treat the three chronic conditions, as long as they are purchased through Central Maine Healthcare’s pharmacy. 

However, Edumedics’ “Notice of Privacy Practices,” which was sent to employees, notes that workers will be required pay for services or treatments if they don’t allow their health information to be shared. 

Goldstein founded Edumedics in 2010. He joined Central Maine Healthcare in January 2013 as head of Central Maine Medical Group, the arm of the health system that handles doctors’ offices and medical practices. As president, Goldstein oversees more than 350 health care providers at four hospitals and nearly 80 sites, according to his biography on Edumedics’ website.

In the letter to employees, Chalke said the health system will do something new: Based on the feedback it got from workers, it has decided to establish an employee advisory committee in early 2015 to provide input from an employee perspective. 

“We look forward to working together to identify how to best deliver better quality health screening that improves the lives of our employees while continuing to make health coverage affordable for us all,” he said.

This story was edited on Nov. 14 to add new information about Edumedics’ privacy notice.

ltice@sunjournal.com

Healthy Decisions Communication 11-7-2014

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