Payer

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.

Amerigroup Texas is partnering with Movito, a healthcare technology developer, to increase the number of mental health therapists in rural, remote and underserved areas. 

Humana reported $1.2 billion in profits during the third quarter and is expecting major increases in Medicare Advantage membership, according to the company's Nov. 2 earnings report.

More than 650 ACA and Medicare call center workers went on strike on the first day of the ACA open enrollment period, Nov. 1, over pay and working conditions.