Payer

Fewer employers are offering their workers only high-deductible health plans this open enrollment season, according to Kaiser Health News.

Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alaska is investing $5.7 million into rural healthcare access in the state, the insurer said Oct. 29.

Molina Healthcare saw revenue and net income decline in the third quarter of fiscal year 2019, according to recent earnings statements.

Kimberly Ross will join Cigna's board of directors June 1, 2020, the health insurer said Oct. 29.

Health Care Service Corp., the parent company of several Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, launched a campaign Oct. 29 to help uninsured or underinsured Americans access coverage.

Cigna found programs that offer members financial incentives to improve their health not only boosted health outcomes but lowered total medical costs by 10 percent on average, the company said Oct. 29.

CMS Administrator Seema Verma criticized proposed healthcare reforms like "Medicare for All" and a government-run public health insurance option during remarks at the HLTH Conference in Las Vegas Oct. 27.

While Pittsburgh-based rivals Highmark and UPMC battled over their contract, national payers creeped into the region's private Medicare market that the dueling institutions previously dominated, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

More than 800 people working at Humana will lose their jobs, as the health insurer said Oct. 28 it will cut its payroll by 2 percent by the end of this year, according to the Courier Journal.

Blue Shield of California is participating in a pilot program in the Sacramento, Calif., area that aims to provide an improved claims payment process for physicians and members.