Today's Top 20 Stories
  1. Top challenges, opportunities facing insurance industry in 2024, per 350 execs

    Technology modernization and the alignment of investments with organizational goals, along with picking the right vendor to partner with, are top of mind for payer executives in 2024, according to a Jan. 30 survey published by digital solutions firm HealthEdge.
  2. As workers stay remote, insurers are leaving headquarters behind

    With fewer employees spending five days a week in-office, two of the nation's largest insurers are consolidating their headquarters. 
  3. Nebraska lawmakers mull Medicaid coverage of weight loss drugs

    Nebraska lawmakers are considering requiring the state's Medicaid program to cover GLP-1 drugs, the Omaha World-Herald reported Feb. 15. 

The state of AI in healthcare

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  1. UnitedHealthcare names chief operating officer

    UnitedHealthcare has named Michael Baker as chief operating officer. 
  2. 'One of the challenges is ubiquity': How CareFirst's CEO is driving local healthcare on the national stage

    Brian Pieninck has led CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield as president and CEO for nearly six years, and he was recently elected as chair of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association's board of directors.
  3. Medicare Advantage in the headlines: 10 recent updates

    It has been a busy few weeks for Medicare Advantage policy. CMS proposed a slight cut in benchmark rates, and payer executives were split on the impact of rising costs in the business. 
  4. Some health systems ditch their health plans

    Some health systems are getting out of the insurance business. 

How one Midwest hospital is driving financial efficiency with interconnected systems

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  1. Payers ranked by Medicaid losses in 2023

    Medicaid redeterminations began in April 2023, and all major payers have released their 2023 earnings, revealing which recorded the largest enrollment losses in the Medicaid market.
  2. Cigna to buy back $3.2B in stock

    The Cigna Group is buying back $3.2 billion in common stock through accelerated repurchase agreements with Deutsche Bank and Bank of America, the company announced Feb. 15. 
  3. Cigna names Midwest general manager

    Cigna Healthcare has named Lisa Buckley general manager for its Midwest group employer business. 
  4. 11 private equity-backed Medicare Advantage companies

    Most private investments in the Medicare Advantage space go to companies specializing in marketing and selling MA plans, according to a Feb. 13 report from the Private Equity Stakeholder Project. 

How one Midwest hospital is driving financial efficiency with interconnected systems

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Major time savers can stem from single logins. That's how 1 hospital achieved a 50% reduction in month-end close time — read the short case study, here.
  1. UnitedHealth adds Arizona office

    UnitedHealth Group will lease a 33,500-square-foot office space in Tempe, Ariz., the Phoenix Business Journal reported Feb. 13. 
  2. Health insurance may have a looming climate change problem

    It's no secret that climate change is already affecting insurance markets in places like Florida — but the health insurance industry could be the next to face rising coverage costs as a result of a warming planet, The Wall Street Journal reported Feb. 14.
  3. Two big payer deals break up

    Two proposed payer deals have been called off in the face of scrutiny from state officials. 
  4. UnitedHealthcare seeking 120 Medicaid employees in New Mexico

    UnitedHealthcare is seeking about 120 Medicaid employees in New Mexico, Albuquerque Business First reported Feb. 12.
  5. CVS' Aetna expands into home kidney care

    CVS' Aetna will begin offering in-home care services to its Medicare Advantage members with chronic kidney disease. 
  6. SCAN, CareOregon call off merger

    CareOregon and SCAN Group have called off a proposed merger between the two nonprofit insurers, after state regulators expressed skepticism about the deal. 
  7. $2.5B BCBS Louisiana, Elevance Health sale on hold again

    Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana has put plans to be acquired by Elevance Health on pause again after the proposed sale faced scrutiny from physicians and state officials. 
  8. 5 prior authorization updates

    From New Jersey signing the nation's most comprehensive reform bill into law, to Inova outlining challenges to the CMS administrator, here are five updates on prior authorization that Becker's has reported since Jan. 26: 
  9. 26 payers among nation's best large, midsize employers in 2024

    BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee was ranked 11th overall in Forbes' ranking of the 600 best large employers in America, and Excellus BlueCross BlueShield was ranked sixth among the best midsize employers.

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