Recession, ACA Exchange Stability Drive Insurer Expansions
Given that enrollment in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges has basically flatlined at around 11.4 million — a lower level than originally projected and just a small fraction of the overall health insurance m...
Humana CEO, Surgeon General Offer COVID-Inspired Lessons
If there’s any upside to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s that it has laid bare what both the country and health care organizations need to prioritize moving forward, suggested two keynote speakers during the America...
Economists Debate Wisdom of Health Care Price Setting
In a Sept. 9 webinar hosted by the Brookings Institution and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, leading health care economists debated the value of government intervention in prices — and got into an extended argumen...
News Briefs
✦ Anthem, Inc. is teaming up with the University of California, Irvine, Apple, Inc., and a company called CareEvolution to launch a study that examines whether devices like the Apple Watch and iPhone can help peop...
Centene, Cigna Expand ACA Marketplace Footprint in 2021
Centene Corp. will increase its Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchange offerings by nearly 400 new counties across 13 states next year. The insurer has been broadening its presence on the exchanges over the past few yea...
With Megamerger Saga Finally Over, What’s Next in M&A?
The climate for payer mergers and acquisitions (M&A) has cooled substantially at a national level ever since the collapse of the proposed deals between Anthem, Inc. and Cigna Corp. and between Aetna Inc. and Hum...
As Transparency Rule Deadline Looms, CMS Doubles Down
The Trump administration — which has made price transparency one of its signature health care initiatives — recently finalized a rule that one expert warns is a signal that CMS is serious about requiring hospita...
Georgia Revises Proposal to Decentralize ACA Marketplace
Georgia recently reaffirmed its proposal to make dramatic changes in its individual market, saying it plans to abandon the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace in favor of a new state program despite the widespread...
Report: Employer-Sponsored Insurance Strained by Pandemic
A Sept. 9 report by the nonpartisan health care policy group United States of Care highlights the challenges posed to the government, private firms and health plan members by the country’s reliance on employer-spo...
MCO Stock Performance, August 2020
Click here for a pdf of the full issue...