Payer

Federal health officials and payers are expected to meet March 18 to discuss how to support providers still struggling financially following the February cyberattack on UnitedHealth's Change Healthcare, according to a Bloomberg report.

Higher medical spending could be the new normal in Medicare Advantage — and insurers will have to find a way to respond, McKinsey analysts wrote. 

The Medicare Payment and Advisory Commission called for a "major overhaul" of Medicare Advantage policies in its annual report to Congress. 

Elevance Health's Anthem BCBS subsidiary will not administer Medicaid benefits in Kentucky, the state's supreme court ruled March 14, the Kentucky Lantern reported.

A lack of payments from Medicare Advantage plans is one reason a Connecticut hospital is laying off staff, the Hartford Courant reported March 14. 

Five states offered unrestricted coverage of the weight loss drugs Wegovy and Saxenda, a study published March 14 in JAMA found. 

The Justice Department is suing six health plans participating in the Uniformed Services Family Health Plan program for allegedly concealing overpayments for services provided to retired military members and their families. 

Several new studies uncovered differences between Medicare Advantage and fee-for-service, and CMS is calling on Medicare Advantage organizations to extend advanced funding to providers affected by the Change Healthcare outage. 

The Washington state insurance commissioner's office fined Molina Healthcare of Washington $100,000 for enrollment and billing errors. 

Medicare Advantage beneficiaries received less at-home care than their counterparts in fee-for-service Medicare, a study published March 1 in JAMA Health Forum found.