Payer

The majority of analytics professionals employed by health plans — 77 percent — expect spending on analytics to increase during the next year, according to a report by accounting and consulting firm Deloitte.

Here are four health systems on the verge of ending in-network agreements with payers.

Annapolis, Md.-based Anne Arundel Medical Center and Baltimore-based CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield may end their in-network agreement due to reimbursement disputes, according to a Baltimore Business Journal report.

Minnetonka Minn.-based UnitedHealth Group recorded $2.3 billion in net earnings attributable to shareholders in the second quarter of this year, compared to $1.8 billion in the same period a year prior.

Richardson-based Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas will take on more than 400,000 members as it replaces Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealthcare's third-party contract with Employees Retirement System of Texas, according to Houston Chronicle.

Indianapolis-based Anthem sued Insys Therapeutics in Chandler, Ariz., for allegedly issuing kickbacks to physicians prescribing its opioid painkiller and misrepresenting diagnoses to inflate reimbursement, Reuters reports.

Oklahoma City-based Integris Health and Tulsa-based Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma reached a stalemate in contract negotiations, The Journal Record reports.

Columbia-based Missouri Care, part of Tampa, Fla.-based managed care provider WellCare, signed a contract with St. Louis-based SSM Health that includes in-network access for Missouri Care's HealthNet Managed Care Members.

The Senate healthcare bill unveiled last Thursday includes a proposal from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, allowing health insurers to sell health plans noncompliant with the ACA — which state insurance regulators fear will reinstate "junk insurance,"  The New York Times…

St. Charles, Mo.-based Mercy patients with health insurance through Indianapolis-based Anthem will be able to access Mercy providers at in-network prices beginning Jan. 1, 2018.