Payer

Cigna updated its Loneliness Index on May 26 to include more data around which demographics are facing feelings of loneliness more than others among the 58 percent of all U.S. adults who report being lonely.

An Ohio hospital is seeking more than $6 million in damages from Aetna, alleging the insurer is failing to pay patient bills, The Review reported June 2. 

Payers are expecting to issue a total of about $1 billion in medical loss ratio rebates across all commercial markets in 2022, according to a study published June 1 by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

There is significant underdiagnosis and unnecessary suffering by Black and Hispanic individuals with major depression, and action is needed from payers to reverse the trend, according to a study published May 31 by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

Getting payers to cover drugs meant to treat obesity can be difficult, but some physicians say there are workarounds, according to The New York Times.

Kindred At Home locations in 14 states began the transition to CenterWell Home Health June 1, as part of Humana's effort to rebrand its home health division. 

California is embarking on a five-year initiative to see if it can curb its Medicaid costs by having managed care insurers deliver social services, Kaiser Health News reported June 1. 

The Los Angeles Department of Mental Health is pushing to end a more than 50-year-old rule that excludes mental health facilities with more than 16 beds from receiving Medicaid payments, the Santa Monica Daily Press reported May 28. 

The Labor Department is suing Atlanta-based Aliera Companies and its CEO, Shelley Steele, for allegedly violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by paying themselves and affiliated companies with health plan assets.

Providers in Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio and Washington, D.C. will no longer be mailed paper providers remittance advice for UnitedHealthcare Community Health Plans, according to a June 1 bulletin from the payer.