Payer

Georgia lawmakers are poised to unveil a behavioral health bill that would, in part, address the state's lacking enforcement of mental health parity, according to Georgia Public Broadcasting.

Loretta Weinberg, New Jersey's state Senate majority leader, will leave office early to join Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield's board of directors, sources told NJ.com for a Jan. 5 report. 

Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Priority Health, the third-largest provider-sponsored health plan in the U.S., partnered with Epic's payer platform to allow real-time exchange for patient health information. 

Payers should brace for an increase in joint pain, cardiomyopathy and diabetes-related claims throughout 2022, according to a report from health insights company Prealize. 

Centene has appointed Jim Murray as its chief transformation officer to lead both the payer's new Value Creation Office and its advanced behavioral health division.

Boston-based eternalHealth is looking to bring a lean, tech-forward approach to the health plan landscape as Massachusetts' newest Medicare Advantage insurer since 2013.

Managed care company Paramount Advantage said it will end its legal dispute over Ohio's $22 billion Medicaid bidding process if the state approves a deal for Anthem to buy the payer's state contract, according to the Ohio Capital Journal. 

The relationship between payers and healthcare providers has always been strained. Amid COVID-19 and widespread workforce upheaval, tensions have only mounted. 

Four U.S. health insurers were listed among the top 10 insurance companies in the world by net premiums written, according to a Jan. 4 AM Best report. 

A former BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee employee is suing the payer alleging she was fired for complaining about the company's COVID-19 vaccination requirement to state lawmakers, The Chattanoogan reported Jan. 4.