BJC Healthcare

Patients who buy health insurance on the federal marketplace will be able to select a plan that includes BJC in its network, thanks to a last-minute deal with insurer Aetna, health system officials confirmed today.

St. Louis’ largest health system, BJC HealthCare, plans to merge with Kansas City’s second-largest, St. Luke’s Health System, uniting more than 28 hospitals on both sides of Missouri by the end of this year.

Two of the largest health systems in Missouri earlier this year announced plans for a $10 billion merger. Experts said that won't necessarily benefit patients when it comes to prices and quality of care.

BJC Healthcare has expanded its gun lock safety program to more than 20 hospital locations. Gun locks are now free and accessible in BJC family care centers, children’s hospitals and emergency rooms in Missouri and Illinois.

The agreement will let the hospital that serves a predominantly rural area have access to the resources of a major city’s health care system without surrendering local control.

BJC’s investment, along with others, brings the WEPOWER Capital’s total to $1.5 million and will go to high-growth, St. Louis-area Black- and Latino-owned businesses.

Health officials are encouraging people in St. Louis to get their annual flu shot ahead of what could be a severe season. Several hospitals and health departments are offering flu shot clinics through October, many with shots for free.

BJC HealthCare, the hospital system that operates Barnes-Jewish Hospital and more than a dozen others in the St. Louis region, on Wednesday unveiled a strategic plan that aims to decrease health disparities between the city’s richest and poorest residents, particularly the gap in health outcomes for Black and white people.

A medical group of 40 will be at the hospital in north St. Louis County for a month.

The number of people testing positive for the virus in St. Louis has more than tripled since last month, St. Louis health officials said Wednesday. More than 14% of coronavirus tests are coming back positive.