Payer

Here are the 12 biggest payer stories making headlines this week, beginning with the most recent.

Federal investigators claimed several companies administering small business health plans failed to pay more than $26 million in medical bills.

Community Health Plan of Washington hired Keith Brown, MD, to serve as CMO and Patty Jones, RN, as senior vice president of health services.

Humana raised the number of employees affected by layoffs or voluntary buyouts to 2,700, up from initial projections of 2,450, Louisville Business First reports.

Representatives from some of Massachusetts' biggest employers called on the CEOs of Hartford (Conn.) HealthCare and Anthem to end a monthslong feud over reimbursement rates, according to a Hartford Courant report.

CMS Administrator Seema Verma gave her first major speech on Medicaid Tuesday, promising to reduce federal oversight of the program and restore it to what she sees as its original intent — a partnership between states and the federal government.

Although Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini deferred comment on a potential $70 billion deal with CVS Health, he said Aetna's future delivery system will harness personalized treatment, according to a Hartford Courant report.

Humana will sell its long-term care insurance business to an HC2 Holdings subsidiary.

Five of America's largest commercial payers — Aetna, Anthem, Humana, Cigna and UnitedHealth Group — reported strong earnings in the third quarter of fiscal year 2017.

Despite declining revenue, Humana reported higher net income in the third quarter of fiscal year 2017 compared to the year prior.