Will Autoenrollment Advance Amid Health-Coverage Crisis?
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the U.S. economy, it would seem to be the perfect time for policymakers to explore a policy option that has garnered rare bipartisan support: automatic health insurance e...
Survey Suggests Insurers Should Ramp Up Member Outreach
Health plan members say they’re not hearing anything from insurers about the COVID-19 pandemic, a new survey shows. But one health insurance insider says it’s possible that many plans have attempted to communica...
News Briefs
✦ Centene Corp. said on May 12 that its Centurion subsidiary will take steps to expand access to telehealth for its incarcerated beneficiaries, address shortages of medical supplies in prison clinics, and offer ho...
Insurers Chart Office Returns as COVID Restrictions Relax
With some states starting to relax shelter-in-place orders meant to slow the spread of COVID-19, health insurance companies are among the many businesses deciding when and how to transition some employees back to th...
With Revenues Squeezed, PCPs Warm Up to Value-Based Care
The COVID-19 pandemic is proving especially challenging for the primary care business, but as a result of the crisis, the head of one primary care trade group says her membership is open to working with insurers to ...
Amid Pandemic, Firms Push for New Mental, Wellness Benefits
Employers are aiming to enhance certain health care benefits — particularly virtual mental health care and wellness solutions — as they look for innovative ways to support their workers during the COVID-19 pande...
S&P Is Cautiously Optimistic About Health Insurers’ Financial Prospects
Credit ratings firm S&P Global Ratings Inc. is mildly confident about the financial health of the health care industry. On May 13, S&P analysts gave health insurance companies a stable outlook, and graded pa...
Outpatient Visits, Hospital Revenues Down During COVID-19 Outbreak
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of visits to ambulatory care practices dropped almost 60% in mid-March, according to a new analysis by researchers at Harvard University and health care technology company Ph...
News Briefs
✦ UnitedHealthcare will expand its presence on the Affordable Care Act exchanges by offering plans in at least one additional state in 2021. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said on May 12 that the insurer will join ...
COVID May Prod Insurers to Give ACA Exchanges Another Look
As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to reverberate throughout the U.S. economy, it’s become clear that there will be a major enrollment shift away from employer-sponsored plans and into Medicaid and t...