Payer

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

Chicago-based Health Care Service Corporation and Detroit-based Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan are using Hortonworks Data Platform to update their data systems and enhance analytics usage. 

Baltimore-based CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield tapped Boston-based emotional intelligence solution Cogito to help service representatives engage in personalized and empathic conversations with policyholders.

President-elect Donald Trump's vow to "repeal and replace" the ACA may be prove to be a matter of semantics rather than a dramatic change in healthcare policy, reports Kaiser Health News.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota's and Fairview Health Services' current network contract expires Dec. 31, after which nearly 170,000 patients could lose access to Fairview services at discounted prices, reports Star Tribune.

A proposed constitutional amendment to create a universal healthcare system in Colorado was soundly defeated Tuesday night, reports The Denver Post.

Mountlake Terrace, Wash.-based Premera Blue Cross is investing in research and technology to streamline health plan selection and utilization, reports Journal of Business.

Ninety-six percent of employers want increased healthcare provider transparency, an International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans survey found.

While individuals with employer-based health plans are evading most of the double-digit premium hikes accompanying ACA exchange plans nationwide, consumers with employer-based coverage still face about a 5 percent hike next year, reports Forbes. 

As healthcare costs and health insurance premiums ascend, Florida Blue's market president suggests a change in consumer utilization of health insurance could stabilize costs, reports WLRN.