Payer

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is issuing $200 million in debit cards to members to help them buy medication and food during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Molina Healthcare entered into a definitive agreement to buy most of Affinity Health Plan's assets for about $380 million, the insurer said Sept. 29.

It's time for the government, payers and hospitals to work together on the future of healthcare during the pandemic and onward, according to Pam Kehaly, president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona.

Average premiums for Medicare Advantage plans will be an average 11 percent lower for the 2021 plan year compared to this year, CMS said Sept. 24.

Medicare Advantage startup Bright Health raised another $500 million in its latest venture capital funding round.

Kittitas Valley Healthcare in Ellensburg, Wash., is planning on leaving Kaiser Permanente's insurance network, according to the Daily Record.

UnitedHealth Group is in advanced talks to buy an online Illinois pharmacy startup called DivvyDose for about $300 million, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. 

Blue Cross Blue Shield insurers tentatively reached a settlement in an antitrust lawsuit that accuses the companies of conspiring to divide markets and avoid directly competing with each other, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

On Sept. 21, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would repeal antitrust exemptions for health insurers.

Daniel Hilferty, president and CEO of Independence Health Group, which runs Independence Blue Cross and AmeriHealth Caritas, is retiring.