Payer

Health insurer Centene and St. Louis-based Ascension agreed to pursue a joint venture to create a Medicare Advantage plan.

UnitedHealth Group's Optum division is opening more urgent care centers in Texas, according to a Star Tribune report.

Several pediatric specialists in Austin, Texas, have notified managed care Medicaid members they cannot access services, claiming health insurers are failing to adequately reimburse them, according the Austin American-Statesman.

Pocatello, Idaho-based Portneuf Medical Center's emergency room physicians are out of network with the state's two largest health insurers after the ER physicians reorganized under a new group, according to the Idaho State Journal.

UnitedHealth Group, Humana and other national health insurers may be on a provider acquisition spree, but Centene Corp.'s CEO said acquiring clinics and physician practices is not part of its strategy, according to a Forbes report.

BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina will offer some members a cash rebate for choosing cheaper physicians and procedures, according to The Herald-Sun.

Anthem has expanded its existing services agreement with IBM, the tech giant confirmed July 26.

Health insurer Anthem reported net income of $1.1 billion in the second quarter of fiscal year 2018, up 23 percent from $855.3 million in the same period last year.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey paid a consulting group $1.7 million to produce reports on how the health insurer could develop its OMNIA Health Plans, which place hospitals in two tiers based on quality and cost. Lower-ranked…

Health insurer Centene saw revenues grow 19 percent to $14.2 billion in the second quarter of fiscal year 2018, up from $12 billion reported in the same period a year prior.