Payer

CMS is encouraging all Medicare Advantage organizations and Medicare-Medicaid plans to waive or relax certain prior authorization requirements amid the COVID-19 surge.

Upticks in public and ACA marketplace coverage offset losses in employer-sponsored health insurance, leaving the nation's uninsured rate largely unchanged because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an Aug. 23 brief published by the Urban Institute. 

Jennifer Vermeer is leaving her role as assistant vice president for population health and external affairs with University of Iowa Health Care to join Molina Healthcare.

BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina is giving employees who are vaccinated by Oct. 1 $500 for getting their shot.

For Affordable Care Act enrollees who don't receive subsidies, 2021 had been a year of rising premiums and swelling costs prior to the American Rescue Plan Act, according to an eHealth report. 

Mike Cole will lead Aetna's North Atlantic territory, a news release shared with Becker's Aug. 19 said.

Premera Blue Cross signed a multi-year agreement with Seattle-based Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, the insurer announced Aug. 19. 

Providers in 12 Western states will no longer be mailed paper remittance advice, or proof that an invoice has been paid, for medical claims to network healthcare professionals and facilities, UnitedHealthcare said in a bulletin.

General Motors allowed 24,000 employees to opt in to a direct contracting agreement with Henry Ford Health System in 2019, and that experiment is showing cost savings promise for Michigan's second largest employer. 

The American Dental Association implored congressional leadership to support Rep. Nanette Barragán, D-Calif., and the Medicaid Dental Benefit Act, which would loop dental coverage into Medicaid.