From CMS finalizing a rule aimed at streamlining the process to UnitedHealthcare launching a gold-card program, here are four key prior authorization updates Becker's reported in 2024:

Medicare Advantage plans must comply with new network adequacy and health equity standards in 2025. 

2024 was a tumultuous year for Medicare Advantage. 

HHS' Office of Inspector General has issued a special fraud alert about the risks of fraud and abuse in certain marketing and compensation arrangements related to Medicare Advantage. 

Four health insurers earned a spot on the latest list of the 250 best-managed companies, as ranked by the Drucker Institute.

UnitedHealth Group has agreed to pay $69 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that alleged the company prioritized its business relationship with Wells Fargo over concerns that its 401(k) plan contained low-performing target-date funds, according to court records. 

In the wake of the targeted killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, the New York Police Department is warning other health insurance executives that their safety could also be at risk.

Centene could turn its attention to acquiring health plans or other assets in 2025, its executives told investors at a Dec. 12 conference. 

Florida's recent ranking of #39 on the State Scorecard on Women's Health and Reproductive Care is a wake-up call. As a Black mother of four in Florida, I find the recent Commonwealth Fund findings disappointing.

Centene executives do not expect a second Trump administration to be able to push through major changes to Medicaid. 

The Federal Trade Commission has sent warning letters to 21 companies marketing or generating leads for health plans regarding concerns over deceptive or unfair claims during open enrollment.

Payer executives are focusing their attention on affordability, value-based care and regulatory changes for the coming year. 

Sachin Jain, MD, CEO of SCAN Group, is sounding the alarm about the growing reliance on centralized call centers across healthcare and how they may inadvertently erode the quality of patient care. 

Optum has backed out of a proposed settlement between Aetna and class members in a lawsuit that accused the companies of improperly charging administrative fees as medical expenses. 

Payer executive moves reported by Becker's in 2024:

Payers expanded their reach into the provider space through acquisitions in 2024. 

A group of senators is questioning prospective CMS administrator Mehmet Oz, MD, over his stance on Medicare Advantage and his financial ties to MA insurers, NBC News reported Dec. 10. 

Payer CEOs are reckoning with the public vitriol directed at the industry in the wake of the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. 

A federal judge has halted new regulations allowing individuals who are part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to enroll in ACA marketplace plans. 

From Cigna quashing merger speculation to naming a new CFO, here are 10 updates on Humana that Becker's has reported since Oct. 30: