Payer

Johns Hopkins Medicine's insurance arm, Hopkins Health Advantage MD, is cutting back its reach, dropping about 5,000 customers in Baltimore and Calvert County, Md., The Baltimore Sun reported Oct. 22.

President Joe Biden said during an Oct. 21 town hall that expanding Medicare would be an uphill battle.

Aetna and CVS Health are launching the Aetna Connected Plan with CVS Health in North Carolina.

Aetna has set a September 2022 goal to move to digital payments, remittances and explanation of benefits statements.

After receiving pushback from retirees, New York City's new Medicare contract for city retirees will be paused indefinitely, a state Supreme Court judge ruled Oct. 21. 

UnitedHealthcare will retroactively reimburse in-network providers for vaccinating its members.

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association announced two C-level executive moves Oct. 19. 

A report from Rob Sand, Iowa's auditor of state, found that privatizing the state's Medicaid program in 2016 resulted in an 891 percent increase in patients who were allegedly illegally denied care. 

A new piece of bipartisan legislation introduced in the Senate is looking to revamp the prior authorization process for Medicare Advantage beneficiaries. 

Cigna issued a pair of announcements focused on broadening its Medicare Advantage footprints in three states.