Payer

Around half of payers had a data breach incident over the past five years, a report from LexisNexis Risk Solutions found. 

UnitedHealth Group was the largest health insurer by national-level market share in 2021, according to a Nov. 1 analysis from the American Medical Association. 

In late October, Pennsylvania state lawmakers sent a bill aiming to streamline the prior authorization process to the governor's desk, making it one of several states that have taken steps to reform that process this year. 

With most healthcare organizations having now released their third quarter earnings, the gap between provider and payer profits continues to widen.

Alabama has the most concentrated commercial health insurance market in the U.S., making it the state with the least competitive market, according to a Nov. 1 analysis from the American Medical Association. 

Cigna raised its annual earnings outlook and reported a 70 percent boost in third quarter profits compared to the same period last year, according to the company's earnings report published Nov. 3.

Though Medicare Advantage was designed to help lower federal healthcare expenditures, recent reporting from The New York Times has thrust allegations of payers defrauding the government through the program back into the limelight.

Hospitals are growing increasingly frustrated with payers, a survey from the American Hospital Association found. 

UnitedHealthcare has the largest share of the nation's Medicare Advantage market, according to a study from the American Medical Association. 

Health insurer Highmark Inc. and associated healthcare system Allegheny Health Network, based in Pittsburgh, will be the first to launch a payer-provider patient billing platform from healthcare billing company Cedar.