Industry sources indicate that Coventry Health’s year long effort to find a leader for its’ First Health workers comp managed care entity has hit another snag.
Evidently the last candidate rejected an offer from Coventry within the last few days, leaving Coventry with an empty pipeline. The job has been open for about a year, and search firm Spencer Stuart has had the engagement for a few months.
Faithful readers will note that I reported Coventry was close to naming an exec a few weeks ago. For unknown reasons the deal could not get done. My take (based on nothing but idle speculation) is the workers comp business may well be more competitive and tougher than Coventry either knows or admits. Aetna’s Work Comp Access program appears to be gathering momentum; Concentra has not stumbled recently; and specialty managed care vendors such as MedRisk and CHOICE Medical Management are “hollowing out” First Health’s network business by taking out pieces of the network (PT and Florida respectively). First Health will be losing big chunks of business from two of its largest network customers this year.
Perhaps the candidates know they are not being asked to take over a thriving market dominator, but rather right the ship of a firm that has grown stagnant and stale.
What does this mean for you?
The right leader could return First Health to prominence in this sector. The longer this goes on, the more important it is to select – and sign – the right candidate.

It isn’t often that international auction house Sotheby’s gets involved in workers compensation cases, so the news that two of their numismatic experts pulled an all-nighter looking for coins missing from the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation is “top of the fold” stuff.
According to a report in the Akron Beacon Journal, Sotheby’s was contracted to track down and value the rare coins that were part of the BWC’s investment “strategy”. This highly unusual investment was made possible by the work of Tom Noe, a now-indicted political crony of Ohio Gov Bob Taft (R). .
Noe, who faces criminal charges for his allegedly illegal campaign contributions and other acts, had been storing the coins at several of his shops around the country, including ones in Sarasota, Maumee Ohio, and Colorado. Unfortunately, the Sotheby audit indicates that the coins they were able to locate are worth between $21 and $27 million; about half of the advertised value of BWC’s investment.
Highlights of the audit included the appearance of an Ohio State Trooper complete with badge and gun at one of Noe’s shops during the on-site audit. Evidently the Sotheby’s people were getting nowhere until the Law arrived, after which they stayed up all night looking at doubloons and double eagles (I’m guessing’).
So, the scandal that won’t fade away (much to the delight of this blogger) gets even better. Somewhat like a rare coin, it continues to appreciate the longer it is around.