Payer

Akron, Ohio-based HealthSpan will dissolve its medical group, HealthSpan Physicians, on March 31, 2016, and close its 11 health facilities in Ohio.

The Department of Health and Human Services is working with pharmacies across the nation to encourage enrollment on the health insurance marketplace.

Chicago-based Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois entered into an agreement with the Chicago-based University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System to begin serving its UI Health Plus Members.

Another nonprofit health insurance co-op will not sell individual health insurance plans for 2016, according to Bangor Daily News.

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

Over the past 15 years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas has donated almost $3 million to various organizations, according to WIBW.com. But this year marked a new accomplishment.

Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealth Group is acquiring its 32nd hospital in Brazil for an estimated cost of approximately $350 million, according to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

Minnetonka, Minn.-based insurer UnitedHealth Group does not plan to pay broker commissions on the sale of individual health plans in many states where it participates in the health insurance marketplace, according to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

Cigna is losing money on its Affordable Care Act marketplace plans, but the Bloomfield, Conn.-based insurer remains committed and is not considering pulling out of the exchanges, unlike UnitedHealthcare.

Payers and healthcare providers were traditionally seen as having conflicting goals — payers wanted to cut expenses, while providers wanted to provide quality care regardless of cost. However, as the healthcare industry evolves and implements outcomes-based payment models, health insurers…