Payer

Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna has asked a judge in Cole County Circuit Court to review Missouri's preliminary order to ban a $37 billion merger with Humana, which the state determined would impede competition, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

A New Jersey appeals court ruled Thursday Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield will not have to share how it classified hospitals in its OMNIA Health Plans, which elevates certain hospitals into preferred groups over others, The Record reported.

In recent months, federal agencies and state health officials have encouraged physicians to provide alternative pain management techniques in an attempt to curb rates of opioid addiction. However, convincing the millions of people in the U.S. who suffer from chronic…

MVP Health Insurance Co. has filed suit against Vermont's Green Mountain Care Board, alleging the board overstepped its power when it denied the insurance company's premium rate increase, according to VTDigger.

Gov. Matt Bevin plans to overhaul Kentucky's Medicaid program by imposing monthly premiums of $1 to $15 and creating a credit system, among other amendments, The Lexington Herald-Leader reported. 

In the past, small companies would compensate their employees' individual health plan costs through raises. However, with individual plan premiums on the rise, small group policies are becoming more popular in Louisiana, according to the Baton Rouge Business Report.

If UnitedHealthcare and Atlanta-based Piedmont Healthcare do not reach an agreement by the end of June, some 150,000 patients could find their physicians out of network, 90.1 WABE reported.

Most health insurers would like to pay for many expensive medications based on their ability to improve patient outcomes, according to a survey by health consulting firm Avalere Health, STAT reported.

Employers allocate an increasing amount of employee compensation to healthcare insurance, resulting in lower wages, a HCMS Group study found.

The Connecticut Office of State Ethics opened a 30-day comment period in light of Insurance Commissioner Katharine Wade's possible conflict of interest with a proposed merger between Bloomfield, Conn.-based Cigna and Indianapolis-based Anthem, Hartford Business reported.