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CMS last week said the average monthly premium for benchmark plans (or second lowest-cost silver plans), the most common type of coverage received on the Affordable Care Act exchanges, will decrease by 3% in 2022. This is the fourth consecutive year of premium drops for benchmark plans. According to the latest update to AIS’s Directory of Health Plans, 12,949,212 people currently receive coverage through the exchanges.

In 2022, Humana Inc. will offer Medicare Advantage plans on the Eastern shore of Maryland for the first time, expanding to eight new counties in the state. Kaiser Permanente is currently the MA market leader in Maryland, with 66,339 members, while Humana serves just 6,043 lives. Maryland has had a historically low MA penetration rate, reaching just 16.3% as of September 2021.

The FDA last week approved Boehringer Ingelheim’s Cyltezo as the first interchangeable biosimilar for AbbVie’s Humira. It is the second U.S.-approved interchangeable biosimilar overall, behind Viatris and Biocon’s Semglee. Cyltezo was approved for a number of inflammatory conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and psoriatic arthritis. For the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, Humira holds preferred status under the pharmacy benefit for 11.6% of all covered lives, growing to 63.5% with utilization management restrictions applied.

Startup insurer Oscar Health is partnering with three Colorado health systems as it prepares to offer individual and family plans statewide for the 2022 plan year, per an Oct. 21 press release.

Among the largest Medicare Advantage insurers, Kaiser Permanente and its seven regional MCOs came out on top once again in CMS’s 2022 star ratings release, with 100% of its Medicare Advantage-Prescription Drug Plan (MA-PD) members enrolled in products with an overall five-star rating.

Longtime Medicaid insurer AmeriHealth Caritas will launch its first Affordable Care Act exchange products in North Carolina, with coverage beginning Jan. 1, 2022. The six plans will be available in 25 counties in th...

New Orleans-based health system Ochsner Health is launching a Medicare Advantage organization, with enrollment beginning in the 2022 plan year. The plans will offer $0 premiums and copays, plus localized wellnes...

Kentucky, Maine and New Mexico are moving away from Healthcare.gov for the 2022 plan year, launching new state-based marketplaces or, in Kentucky’s case, rebooting a former exchange. In Kentucky, 85,344 ...

Centene Corp. on Oct. 4 said it will expand its Medicare Advantage market’s geographic footprint by 26% in 2021, offering products in 1,575 counties across 36 states. Centene currently serves 1,208,486 M...

Humana Inc. will offer 72 new Medicare Advantage plans in the 2022 plan year, expanding to “hundreds” of new counties according to an Oct. 1 press release from the insurer. The insurer has enhanced its b...