Payer

Mark Farrah Associates, a healthcare data aggregator and publisher, analyzed the 2015 third quarter results of seven major U.S. health insurers — Aetna, Anthem, Cigna, Health Care Service Corporation, Humana, Kaiser Permanente and UnitedHealth Group.

PreferredOne, a Golden Valley, Minn.-based payer, reached a network agreement with Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna this month. Now PreferredOne is hoping to draw in more business from large companies, according to the Star Tribune.

Milwaukee-based Molina Healthcare of Wisconsin has added CVS Minute Clinics in Milwaukee, Waukesha and Kenosha counties to its provider network, enabling patients with Molina insurance to go to those clinics for care, according to the Milwaukee Business Journal.

Another state has approved Aetna's acquisition of Humana, according to the Miami Herald.

From 2013 to 2014, the number of uninsured children did not significantly rise in any state — in fact, the percentage of uninsured children dropped in 23 states, according to HealthDay News.

Las Vegas-based Health Services Coalition is in a contract dispute with Nashville, Tenn.-based Hospital Corporation of America, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Watchdog groups are speaking out after Kentucky Insurance Commissioner Brian Maynard approved the Aetna-Humana merger without a formal public hearing, according to Insider Louisville.

The North Carolina Department of Insurance has officially vowed to investigate Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, according to WNCN.com.

The following insurers made headlines this week. They are listed below, beginning with the most recent.

Richmond, Va.-based Patient First — the state's largest provider of urgent and primary care — is no longer accepting a number of Anthem plans, according to WTVR.com.