News Briefs
✦ CMS said on Aug. 4 that in light of the COVID-19 public health emergency, it will allow insurers operating in the individual and small-group markets to offer one or more months of temporary premium reductions fo...
States, MCOs May Be Poised to Tangle Over Medicaid Rates
Despite growing, bipartisan calls for more federal Medicaid funding to stem states’ budget shortfalls, such a provision is absent from Senate Republicans’ latest COVID-19 relief bill. And while that omission hin...
Experts Pan Administration’s Drug Pricing Executive Orders
In executive orders released July 24, the Trump administration renewed its push toward a signature campaign issue: lowering drug prices. However, experts say that the orders are a rehash of similar proposals by the ...
Cigna MLR Reaches Record Low As Insurer Beats Expectations
Cigna Corp. handily beat analysts’ expectations for its second quarter earnings and posted a record low medical loss ratio of 70.5% as members continued to defer non-emergency medical visits and procedures due to ...
Centene Sees Lower Than Expected Enrollment Boost
Centene Corp. reported second-quarter earnings in line with its own projections and Wall Street consensus, but also enrolled fewer members than executives had expected. The firm touted revenue growth from its acquis...
Anthem Says Commercial Enrollment Dip Was Less Than Expected, But More Attrition to Come
While Anthem, Inc. has seen less of an enrollment dip in its commercial business than it originally feared when the COVID-19 pandemic and economic recession first took hold, the insurer’s executives said during a ...
Effectuated ACA Exchange Enrollment Rises Slightly in Early 2020
An average of 10.7 million Affordable Care Act exchange enrollees had effectuated their health coverage — signed up for a plan and paid the first month’s premium — as of March 15, 2020, a 0.9% increase compare...
News Briefs
✦ Recognizing that many people — especially seniors — haven’t been comfortable leaving home for routine health care services, Humana Inc. said on July 23 that it’s planning to mail more than 1 million in-h...
Privacy Rule Change Could Improve SUD Care Coordination
Stakeholders across the health care industry praised recently finalized revisions to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s 42 CFR Part 2 rule. The changes loosen disclosure and privacy re...
New Research Highlights Need for More Education About HSAs
In recent years, high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) — now common in both employer-sponsored and individual markets — have faced increasing scrutiny as evidence emerges that they may not actually cause people t...