Payer

New York City-based startup Oscar Health announced Sept. 30 a pair of partnerships that tie into market expansions.

Aetna is bringing Mount Laurel, N.J.-based Array AtHome, the largest telepsychiatry practice in the country, into its provider network.

A new partnership among Michigan Medicine, St. Joseph Mercy Health System — both based in Ann Arbor — and Lansing-based Physicians Health Plan is expanding Medicare Advantage options in two Michigan counties. 

A study from NORC at the University of Chicago revealed that just over 1 percent of Medicare beneficiaries had their social needs tracked in 2018 healthcare claims.

Negotiations are coming down to the wire as UnitedHealthcare and Marietta, Ga.-based Wellstar Health System have yet to reup a contract ahead of an Oct. 3 deadline. 

UnitedHealthcare is among the payers involved in a legal battle over New York City's decision to shift retirees' healthcare coverage off of Medicare and onto a new contract with Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield and EmblemHealth's joint venture, the Alliance.

Blue Cross Blue Shield Association has named Katie Wilson McBreen its new vice president of communications.

The average premium for 2022 Medicare Advantage plans will be down to $19 per month from $21.22 in 2021, CMS said in a Sept. 29 news release to share information ahead of the 2022 open enrollment period. 

Humana and Jackson-based University of Mississippi Medical Center signed an agreement to bring the state's only academic health science center into the insurer's network. 

Oklahoma teachers and state employees covered by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma will see a premium increase of up to 140 percent, but parties are saying they can't justify the price hike.