The Latest

In February, Gov. Ned Lamont proposed the “Connecticut Option” — a publicly created, but privately administered, health plan — in his 2027 budget proposal. He called for $1 million to outline the policy and conduct a feasibility assessment. He said…

In a Feb. 11 budget proposal, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer laid out how she plans to secure $780.4 million to stabilize Medicaid.  Ms. Whitmer is aiming to bring in $232 million from tobacco, $73.6 million from vaping and non-tobacco nicotine products,…

An Illinois bill proposed Feb. 2 would require commercial health insurers and HMOs to pay a combined $100 million annual assessment to fund behavioral health crisis services, shifting costs that currently fall on Medicaid and local governments. The crisis resources…

Independence Blue Cross (IBX) is rolling out a severity-based payment approach for emergency inpatient admissions under Medicare Advantage, following a similar policy from Aetna that took effect earlier this year. Under the new policy, effective March 5, IBX will use…

The trustee overseeing litigation claims for bankrupt Dallas-based Steward Health Care System is suing five payers, alleging they owe the system’s former hospitals at least $56.9 million in unpaid claims. The trustee, Mark Kronfeld, filed the complaints Feb. 10 and…

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has agreed to sell its AF Group subsidiary to Enstar Group, a global insurance and reinsurance group, the companies said Feb. 13. AF Group is a national provider of workers’ compensation and specialty insurance…

Workers in 19 states spend 10% or more of their median household income on health insurance premiums and deductibles for family coverage through their employer, according to an analysis published Feb. 11 by the Commonwealth Fund. The analysis used federal…