A Congressional Budget Office report estimating how partial repeal of the ACA could affect health insurance coverage and premiums most grabbed the attention of Becker's Hospital Review payer issues readers this past week.
Payer
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman negotiated a national settlement with Indianapolis-based Anthem to end preauthorization for medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder.
Visits to retail health clinics almost doubled over the past five years for commercially insured Blue Cross and Blue Shield policyholders, according to the payer's data.
Indianapolis-based Anthem said it wants to reduce the amount of opioids prescribed to policyholders by 30 percent by the end of 2019.
The following payers made headlines this week. They are listed below, beginning with the most recent.
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Urbana, Ill.-based Health Alliance pulled its individual health plans from the ACA exchange this week after reaching its enrollment cap before the marketplace closes Jan. 31.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson is expected to shut down Indianapolis-based Anthem's proposed $54 billion acquisition of Bloomfield, Conn.-based Cigna as soon as Thursday, Reuters reports.
Medicare Advantage organizations have some work to do to repair inaccuracies in their online provider directories, according to a CMS report.
Indianapolis-based Anthem extended the completion deadline of its proposed acquisition of Bloomfield, Conn.-based Cigna from Jan. 31 to April 30.
Longtime Medica CEO David Tilford retired after 16 years at the Minnetonka, Minn.-based payer.