Payer

Payers invested in value-based care throughout 2022, teaming up with Walmart and many other companies to prioritize quality-based payments. 

Changes in payment rates and beneficiary characteristics were the main drivers of the slowdown in Medicare spending growth from 2012 to 2018, a study published Dec. 2 in JAMA Health Forum found. 

From unveiling revenue projections to the delay of its LHC Group acquisition, here are nine stories about UnitedHealth Group that Becker's has reported since Nov. 23. 

Knowing where Medicare Advantage dollars are being spent is a top priority for CMS, Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said at the Milken Future of Health Summit on Dec. 8. 

Employer-sponsored health costs rose 3.2 percent on average in 2022 and are expected to rise 5.4 percent in 2023, according to a Dec. 8 Mercer survey. 

Sponsors of a bill reforming the Medicare Advantage prior authorization process said the legislation is "one step closer to becoming law" after CMS released a proposed prior authorization improvement rule Dec. 6. 

A judge granted the University of Minnesota a temporary injunction in the university's lawsuit against UCare, preventing the payer from amending its bylaws to change its board while litigation is ongoing. 

Labor unions contracted with Elevance Health for self-funded plans are suing the payer, alleging Elevance Health does not allow self-paid plans to access their own claims data and charged the self-pay plans higher rates than it had negotiated with hospitals. 

In the first five weeks of open enrollment, 1.2 million people have signed up for ACA exchange plans for the first time, and 4.3 million have renewed their plans or selected new options on the marketplace, HHS said Dec. 7. 

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a new regulation aimed at protecting consumers from "unfair, surprise costs" when they rely on incorrect information in an insurer's healthcare provider directory.