DOJ sues Medicare Advantage insurers and brokers over alleged kickbacks

The U.S. Department of Justice sued top health insurance companies and brokers alleging they used illegal kickbacks to steer members into certain private Medicare Advantage plans.

The complaint names units of CVS Health Corp., Elevance Health Inc. and Humana Inc., along with broker companies eHealth, Inc., GoHealth, Inc., and SelectQuote Inc.

The government lawsuit, which was initiated by a whistleblower in 2021 and unsealed Thursday, alleges that brokers told their agents to sell Medicare Advantage based on the kickbacks and blocked the sale of insurance plans that didn’t pay. The complaint, which covers behavior from 2016 through 2021, further alleges that Aetna and Humana pressured brokers to enroll fewer disabled people in their plans.

Medicare Advantage is a private version of Medicare, the government health plan mostly for people in the U.S. aged 65 and older.

Representatives from Elevance and Humana did not respond to requests for comment.

Kohl’s fires CEO it hired this year, says she directed millions to partner

Kohl’s said it fired its chief executive officer only months into his tenure after the board uncovered that he directed millions of dollars of business to someone he has had a personal relationship with that wasn’t disclosed.

The company said it’s starting a search to find a permanent CEO replacement following the departure of Ashley Buchanan, who came to Kohl’s in January from retailer Michaels Cos. Chairman Michael Bender will serve as Kohl’s interim CEO.

Buchanan’s business dealings were with a woman he has been romantically involved with, named Chandra Holt. The two served together as executives at Walmart Inc.’s discount chain Sam’s Club in the late 2010s.

Tesla denies it started seeking new CEO; company ‘highly confident’ in Musk

Tesla Inc.’s chair denied a report that said board members started a search for a chief executive officer to succeed Elon Musk, saying directors are “highly confident” in his abilities.

The Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday that unidentified Tesla board members had reached out to executive-search firms about a month ago, citing people familiar with the discussions. Robyn Denholm, Tesla’s chair, called the story “absolutely false.”

“The CEO of Tesla is Elon Musk and the board is highly confident in his ability to continue executing on the exciting growth plan ahead,” Denholm said via the company’s X account.

Tesla’s vehicle sales and stock price have slumped this year as Musk has devoted significant time to working for President Donald Trump.

MNG buys NorCal’s Press Democrat

MediaNews Group, owner of the Southern California News Group, has acquired The Press Democrat in Santa Rosa and its sister publications from Sonoma Media Investments. Terms of the sale were not disclosed by either company.

Darius Anderson, managing member of Sonoma Media Investments, said the transition to MNG was the best option to keep “a viable, independent local press” in the North Bay community. He and a group of investors bought the newspaper group in 2012, a time when The Press Democrat’s fate was uncertain.

— Compiled from Associated Press, staff and Bloomberg reports.