Optum Ventures, an independent venture capitalist fund of UnitedHealth Group's Optum, led a $12 million funding round for LetsGetChecked, an at-home lab test startup.
Payer
UnitedHealthcare opted to terminate its agreement with Nashville, Tenn.-based Envision Healthcare no later than Jan. 1, 2019, according to recent court documents.
CMS gave states more power to regulate their insurance markets under a final rule published April 9.
Georgia Republican Gov. Nathan Deal directed Atlanta-based Piedmont Healthcare and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia to head back to the negotiating table for about 600,000 state employees affected by their contract lapse.
CMS will allow Medicare Advantage insurers to expand supplemental benefits, which could provide a greater opportunity for rideshare companies teaming up with insurers to bring beneficiaries to medical appointments, according to Forbes contributor Bruce Japsen.
Advertisement
A federal judge ruled litigation against Blue Cross Blue Shield insurers showed how they do business may be an automatic violation of federal antitrust regulations, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Since its acquisition of 250 Las Vegas-area physicians in 2008, UnitedHealth Group has steadily expanded its physician workforce to shield itself from competitors and hospitals, according to a Bloomberg report.
As a string of big-ticket acquisitions spring up across the health insurance industry, one major insurer, Anthem, is sitting on the sidelines — a move that could pay off for them financially, The Wall Street Journal argues.
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee will use $50 million in savings under new federal tax law to lower members' premiums and improve consumer tools used to find in-network physicians and hospitals, according to the Times Free Press.
Humana increased the number of "healthy days" its employees experience by 1.8 million since 2012 under its "Bold Goal" project.