Payer

Illinois is the first state where low-income, undocumented seniors can access public health insurance, according to Kaiser Health News.

UnitedHealthcare invested in an affordable housing project in Minnesota, further expanding the insurer's effort to improve health outcomes by addressing social determinants of health.

Here are four recent contract agreements or conflicts between payers and providers:

CMS issued a new guidance for state officials looking to roll out social determinants of health strategies for Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program members.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan chose OptumRx as its new pharmacy benefit provider, ending a relationship with Express Scripts, the insurer said Jan. 6.  

Surgical Care Affiliates, which is part of UnitedHealth Group's Optum division, is facing charges of collusion for allegedly agreeing with competitors to not poach senior-level employees, the Department of Justice said Jan. 7.  

Kaiser Permanente tops a list of insurers ranked by customer satisfaction in a recent survey from insure.com, which offers online insurance comparison.

Blue Shield of California's board of directors will be majority women for the first time in its 82-year history with the addition of Myechia Minter-Jordan, MD, to its governing body, the insurer said Jan. 6.

A change in how Medicare pays laboratories for COVID-19 diagnostic tests took effect Jan. 1, with a 25 percent pay cut enacted for facilities that take more than two days to complete the tests. 

Aetna got a partial win in a proposed class-action lawsuit that claims the health insurer wrongfully denied coverage for a cancer treatment called proton beam radiation therapy, according to court documents.