Payer

Private health insurers now manage Medicaid programs in 38 states, according to Kaiser Health News. However, studies and government reports have failed to prove this model improves care quality or generates greater cost efficiencies.

Virginia is preparing for Medicaid expansion, state Gov. Ralph Northam announced Oct. 18.

Aetna agreed to pay $4.3 million to attorneys who represented plaintiffs of a class-action lawsuit concerning an inadvertent disclosure of their HIV status, according to Bloomberg Law.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana signed a definitive agreement Oct. 17 to acquire majority ownership of regional Vantage Health Plan for an undisclosed amount.

UnitedHealth Group is spending $69 billion on value-based payments, up from $64 billion in 2017, according to Forbes contributor Bruce Japsen.

While health insurance is intended to safeguard policyholders when severe illnesses arise, a survey of 1,495 of the sickest Americans found even those with insurance can experience financial fallout after a serious diagnosis, according to The New York Times.

Waltham, Mass.-based Devoted Health, a startup created by former athenahealth executives and Obama administration officials, has raised $360 million in venture capital to begin selling private Medicare Advantage plans to U.S. senior citizens, Bloomberg reports.

Tupelo-based North Mississippi Health Services notified patients it is ending a provider network agreement with Humana's Medicare Advantage plans due to frequent denials, according to the Daily Journal.

Another 4,109 Medicaid beneficiaries in Arkansas lost their health insurance in October after failing to comply with the program's work requirements for three months, according to the Arkansas Department of Human Services.

UnitedHealth Group posted strong results for the three months ended Sept. 30 and reported a previously undisclosed acquisition of a specialty pharmacy based in Phoenix.