• HHS, payers meet to address Change Healthcare cyberattack response

    March 20, 2024 - Officials from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) met with 15 health insurance companies, including major payers and organizations like UnitedHealth Group, Elevance Health, and AHIP, to discuss payers’ Change Healthcare cyberattack response, HHS reported. During the meeting, HHs reviewed the results of a payer survey...

  • UnitedHealth Group Scrutinized for Alleged Antitrust Practices

    February 28, 2024 - The Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating antitrust allegations against UnitedHealth Group, with a specific focus on the ties between UnitedHealthcare and Optum, according to a Wall Street Journal article that broke the story. Optum’s physician group acquisitions are at the center of DOJ’s inquiries as well as how the...

  • HCSC Announces $3.3B Cigna Medicare Business Acquisition

    February 2, 2024 - HCSC, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, intends to seal the acquisition of Cigna’s Medicare businesses for $3.3 billion, the payer announced. The purchase includes the major payer’s Medicare Advantage plans, Medicare Supplemental Benefits plans, Medicare Part D plans, and CareAllies—which is a...

  • CMS Proposes 3.7% Increase in Medicare Advantage Plan Payments

    January 31, 2024 - Medicare Advantage plan payments will increase by 3.7 percent or $16 billion in 2025, CMS proposed in the Calendar Year (CY) 2025 Advance Notice for the Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Programs. The proposed payment increase reflects a 2.44 percent effective growth rate, a 0.15 decrease in star ratings from the upcoming...


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CMS final rule aims to simplify Medicaid, CHIP enrollment, coverage

A new CMS final rule, the “Streamlining the Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Basic Health Program Application, Eligibility Determination, Enrollment, and Renewal...

Medicaid disenrollments surpass 18M, exceeding HHS projections

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act required Medicaid to provide continuous coverage for beneficiaries throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. With disenrollments paused, Medicaid and the...

Medicaid Health Plan Will Reimburse Health Equity Certification

Meridian Health Plan of Illinois, Inc.—a wholly-owned subsidiary of Centene Corporation that offers Medicaid coverage—announced that it will cover part of the fee hospitals must pay to...

Massachusetts residents delay services due to high healthcare costs

High healthcare costs are burdening Massachusetts residents, with many delaying care due to prices, according to a survey from Beacon Research commissioned by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts...

HHS, payers meet to address Change Healthcare cyberattack response

Officials from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) met with 15 health insurance companies, including major payers and organizations like UnitedHealth Group, Elevance Health, and...

Healthcare spending is higher in Medicare households, study finds

Healthcare spending is higher in households where Medicare covers all members, a KFF issue brief found. Around 66 million adults receive health insurance coverage through Medicare, including 59...

Humana and Baptist Health reach contract agreement for in-network coverage

Kentucky-based Baptist Health Medical Group and Humana have reached a new contract agreement, restoring in-network coverage for Medicare Advantage and commercial patients. The multi-year agreement...

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