Payer

The costs associated with Aetna's unsuccessful bid for a merger with Humana struck a chord with Becker's Hospital Review readers this week.

Bruce Broussard, CEO of Louisville, Ky.-based Humana, said the insurer will not reenter health insurance exchanges created under the ACA even if the individual market changes for the better under Republicans' proposed healthcare bill, WDRB reports.

Here are 17 contract resolutions and dissolutions that occurred between payers and providers since Jan. 1, beginning with the most recent.

Anthem CEO Joseph Swedish requested changes to the GOP's ACA replacement plan in a conversation with the Trump administration Tuesday, according to Bloomberg.

Researchers found an association between the number of health insurance advertisements aired during the 2013 to 2014 open enrollment period and the rate of uninsured Americans, according to a study published in Health Affairs.

The following payers made headlines this past week, beginning with the most recent.

Chickasha, Okla.-based Grady Memorial Hospital reached a preferred provider organization agreement with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma, The Express-Star reports.

Tucson, Ariz.-based Northwest Healthcare and UnitedHealthcare in Minnetonka, Minn., reached a contract impasse that could affect thousands of patients' in-network access to Northwest's services by May 1, according to tucson.com.

Idaho Falls-based Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center and Blue Cross of Idaho in Meridian signed a contract this month to provide in-network coverage to certain BCBSI policyholders seeking emergency and referred services at the medical center, the Post Register reports.

The number of Americans who enrolled in health plans for 2017 through the federal exchange and state-based marketplaces totaled 12.2 million, down 4 percent from the 12.7 million recorded in 2016, CMS reports.