Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas will sever ties with Houston-based Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, putting approximately 100,000 patients out of network with the providers' physicians, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Payer
Anthem filed papers to the U.S. Department of Justice Tuesday arguing its transaction with Cigna would cut consumer cost, expand coverage and fortify Affordable Care Act online exchanges, Bloomberg reported.
Baltimore-based CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield upped its requested premium rate increases for 2017 individual plans from 12 percent for HMO plans and 15.3 percent for PPO plans to 27.8 percent and 36.6 percent, respectively.
UPMC, Geisinger, Aetna and three other health plans contended for double-digit increases on individual rates at a public hearing Wednesday, despite consumers arguing the higher costs would force them to purchase inadequate plans or exit the marketplace.
Average premiums in the Affordable Care Act's individual marketplace were 10 to 21 percent lower in the first year of the law's implementation, even while providing better coverage, according to a recent analysis conducted by Health Affairs.
Advertisement
Anthem saw financial gains in the second quarter of 2016 due to an increase in Medicaid membership, but higher costs from the insurer's Affordable Care Act plans dragged down its bottom line.
St. Louis-based Centene does not have the network for Medicare Advantage assets large managed care companies are looking to sell, CEO Michael Neidorff told Reuters.
Cigna is vying for space in Affordable Care Act marketplaces in Illinois, North Carolina and Virginia, The Hill reported.
Tucson-based University of Arizona Health Plans may cut 58 jobs next year following the end of a health plan contract it held since 2005 in the state's most populous county, the Arizona Daily Star reported.
Indianapolis-based Anthem called out the U.S. Department of Justice in a full-page ad published in The Washington Post Tuesday, defending its proposed $54 billion acquisition of Bloomfield, Conn.-based Cigna.