Payer

A consumer group that filed suit against Anthem Blue Cross Nov. 1 has requested an injunction preventing the insurer from switching 500,000 Californians to health plans that offer no coverage for out-of-network care, reports Los Angeles Times.

Athens, Ga.-based St. Mary's Health Care System and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia reached an agreement to continue in-network collaboration, reports Athens Banner-Herald.

The Everett (Wash.) Clinic will network with Seattle-based Regence BlueShield for 2017 health plans, overriding contract disputes that could have disrupted care for 69,000 patients, reports Komo News.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson will begin hearing remarks from Anthem and Cigna Nov. 21 as the payers defend their $54 billion acquisition contract against an U.S. Department of Justice antitrust challenge.

Traditionally, payers and healthcare providers have been portrayed as having conflicting goals. However, as the healthcare industry evolves and implements outcomes-based payment models, health insurers and providers are collaborating more than ever before.

More than 7,000 Blue Cross of Idaho members in Kootenai County will have to participate in the Kootenai Care Network if they want to get Blue Cross insurance next year, reports The Spokesman-Review.

HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said more than 100,000 enrolled in ACA exchange plans Wednesday following Tuesday's election results, the highest of any day since enrollment commenced Nov. 1.

CMS unveiled 2017 premiums and deductibles for Medicare Part A and Part B programs, with high earners seeing lower hikes than originally predicted.

The CEO of Aetna said his team went back to the drawing board following Tuesday's election results to devise a course of action for an outcome they had not anticipated — potential repeal of the ACA, reports Hartford Courant.

The following payers made headlines this week. They are listed below, beginning with the most recent.