Payer

Financial data for the first half of 2018 show that health insurers selling policies on the ACA exchanges are returning to profitability, according to an Oct. 5 brief published by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

A state-brokered consent decree between Pittsburgh rivals Highmark Health and UPMC expires June 30, 2019. After that date, Highmark Medicare Advantage members will be unable to access several UPMC providers and hospitals at in-network rates.

Immigrants paid 12.6 percent of premiums to private health insurers in 2014 but represented only 9.1 percent of the health insurers' expenses, according to a study published in the October issue of Health Affairs.

HHS' final rule on short-term health plans went into effect Oct. 2.

About 11,000 patients could lose access to OhioHealth due to a contractual issue between the Columbus-based health system and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield's Medicare Advantage plan, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

Hartford (Conn.) HealthCare has reached a three-year network agreement with Cigna for the system's six hospitals, effective Nov. 1, according to the Hartford Courant.

Savannah, Ga.-based Memorial Health University Medical Center has renewed its network agreement with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Aetna will remain in Hartford, Conn., for at least a decade after it is acquired by CVS Health, the pharmacy benefits manager told Connecticut insurance regulators Oct. 3, according to the Hartford Courant.

On average, annual family premiums for employer health plans totaled about $20,000 this year, according to new data from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

1. For the first time, the costs of employer sponsored family healthcare coverage has reached approximately $20,000 per year. The year-over-year growth in this number exceeds average inflation. This does not match the horrendous increases over inflation of several years…