Cigna is one step closer to dropping its Medicare business this week after finalizing the sale of its MA plans to the Health Care Service Corp. (HCSC) for $3.3 billion, so long as federal regulators approve the deal. It is set to finalize by the first quarter of 2025.
Late last year, the insurance giant was scrambling to find...National News
Scientists have successfully created and implemented a gene therapy that can reverse a type of mutation that causes congenital deafness.
The gene, called the otoferlin gene, destroys a protein in the inner ear's hair cells necessary for the transmission of sound to the brain. According to the New York Times, researchers knew that...National News
Cigna is very ready to be done with its Medicare Advantage program, and may have finally found a buyer for its existing plans.
Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Cigna was in advanced talks with the Health Care Service Corp (HCSC) to sell the MA business for between $3 and $4 billion. HCSC is the nonprofit insurer that...National News
While regulators, insurers and administrators make progress on rectifying the issues of prior authorization (PA), new data shows that a record number of prior authorization requests were made to Medicare Advantage (MA) insurers in 2021.
Beneficiaries enrolled in traditional Medicare are rarely subject to prior authorization, but...National Reports & Surveys
In 2022 insurer participants grew 21% YOY in the individual market, which displayed stable premiums thanks to additional subsidies from the American Rescue Plan. The market featured more product choices for consumers and one stand-out brand: Blue Cross Blue Shield, which since 2014 has been available to 80% of consumers shopping for a...
The special enrollment period for individual health care plans offered through the Affordable Care Act has been a boon for major health insurers participating in the Marketplace. But many insurers are concerned that extending the SEP could cause unintended issues for insurers and enrollees alike. Also, the Brookings Institute says that...
The Urban Institute found Blue Cross Blue Shield-affiliated companies dominate federal and state health insurance marketplaces; the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service reports Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona (BCBSAZ) provided individual coverage to about 34,000 Arizona marketplace consumers, but was dominated by Health Net, which...National News
Seven hospital systems and three philanthropies joined forces to create a consortium of healthcare powerhouses with the common goal of lowering drug prices and addressing a drug shortage. The venture, dubbed Civica Rx, is a non-profit that works with generic drug companies to manufacture medications.
Insurers are now getting in on...National News
Former Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) Chief Medical Officer Dr. Trent Haywood has launched a new venture that guides healthcare startups in navigating the healthcare system for easier implementation in the marketplace.
Haywood established Knowality in November 2019, a venture services firm that provides product...Arizona News
Various insurers, hospitals, and state regulators are encouraging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to continue a practice dubbed "silver loading" in fear that ending the rule would destabilize Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges.
Health insurers typically raise premiums on silver-level exchange plans to recover the...National News
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) announced last month its Blue Premier program, a value-based model of healthcare that binds performance directly to payment. BCBSNC and five other health systems are responsible for fostering better outcomes with a lower cost.
The health systems include:
Cone Health
...National News
Insurers claim the Trump administration's decision to withhold billions of dollars in risk adjustment payments could result in higher premiums for millions.
It was confirmed Saturday that $10.4 billion in payments to insurers under Obamacare is suspended due to a court's ruling over the risk adjustment program in New Mexico....Arizona News
Citing financial risk and an uncertain outlook.
People who purchased health insurance directly from Aetna can keep their plans through the end of this year but will need to search for other options in 2018.
Aetna did not offer subsidized plans through the Affordable Care Act marketplace this year, but it did sell "off-exchange"...
