Payer

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

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association has announced 36 independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies are committed to contributing data on healthcare quality and costs to the Blue Cross Blue Shield Axis.

The CEOs of health insurers Aetna and Anthem defended their mega-merger deals before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust on Tuesday, according to The Wall Street Journal.

HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell reflected on the first five years of the Affordable Care Act and provided a look at the upcoming open enrollment period in a speech at Washington, D.C.-based Howard University College of Medicine Sept. 22.

Insurance giant UnitedHealthcare is launching an initiative in Texas to provide supportive housing to its members who don't have a stable place to live, according to the Texas Tribune.

Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health's nonprofit HMO plan, Sutter Health Plus, has expanded to five new counties in the Bay Area, according to the San Francisco Business Times.

The National Committee for Quality Assurance, a D.C.-based nonprofit, has released a system that compares health insurance plan ratings based on patient satisfaction, treatment and outcomes.

The U.S. Department of Justice has asked Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna for more information on its pending $37 billion acquisition of Louisville, Ky.-based health insurer Humana, according to a Reuters report.

Cigna CEO David Cordani said Anthem's planned takeover of Cigna will not harm customers but will increase choice and affordability, according to Reuters.

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